


Let Me Save You

by Sir_Weston



Category: South Park
Genre: Abusive Parents, Alternate Universe - High School, Blackmail, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Bullying, Child Abuse, Craig is Bisexual, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Falling In Love, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Forbidden Love, Forced Relationship, Forced Sex, Friendship, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Homosexuality, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, M/M, Past Abuse, Past Relationship(s), Red is a bitch, Tree Houses, Unrequited Love, horrible parents, life sucks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2018-11-19
Packaged: 2019-02-07 19:29:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 26,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12847962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sir_Weston/pseuds/Sir_Weston
Summary: Tweek has always had his eyes on Craig. He wants to be in a romantic relationship with him, knowing that Craig is the only one who's ever been nice to him. There's only one problem.Craig is already taken.A story of a forbidden love as the world around them looks down on homosexuality, and life can be harsh and cruel. Tweek has to find a way to be with Craig without anyone finding out, or Craig's parents will make sure Tweek is never heard from again.





	1. Staring

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Night_Witch_The_Third](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Night_Witch_The_Third/gifts).



> I’m trying to break a few tropes I’ve seen with a lot Tweek/Craig stories, like Tweek either being friends with a bunch of girls or Kenny. I also never got/liked the fandom thing of Red being Craig’s cousin. I don’t see the connection at all, so I refuse to include it, which is why I’m having Craig date her.  
> Hope you enjoy! This is one of the most serious things I've ever written.

Tweek knew he was gay. He had come to accept that a long time ago. He never found girls attractive, or nice to look at. And while he had been growing up, all the girls he knew had been assholes to him, while the guys just sort of ignored him.

He would much rather be ignored than teased.

Now that he was almost eighteen, Tweek knew he preferred guys. It was just a shame that absolutely no one was interested in him. The fact that he was a shaking, twitching, paranoid wreck probably didn’t help him very much.

But that didn’t matter much. Tweek wasn’t really into relationships. He felt they were too much pressure. But there was one boy he always had his eye on.

That boy was Craig Tucker. He was one of the most desirable guys in the high school. His jet-black hair that was just long enough to fall into his eyes, pressed down by the blue chullo hat he always wore, made his sapphire blue eyes stand out even more on his face. He constantly wore an “I-don’t-care-about-anything-or-anyone” look on his face. There were always girls swarming around him. There was only one major problem.

Craig was already taken.

The girl, Red, was his girlfriend, and had been since the first year of middle school. She was very beautiful, and clung to Craig like someone who wanted to show off to all her girlfriends the new shoes she had bought. She was always boisterously bragging about how she had Craig, and no one else could have him.

Tweek didn’t know how Craig could stand her, but then again, he didn’t know Red that well. Who knows? Maybe there was a side to Red only Craig got to see?

Tweek, who could usually be found watching Craig from a distance, found it rather odd that the only people who seemed to hang around Craig were girls. And Tweek was certain they were all Red’s friends more than Craig’s. The only guy Craig was friends with was Clyde. And Clyde seemed to be his best friend.

It wasn’t that Craig never tried to make guy friends. From what Tweek observed, it seemed he had made some before, but they never seemed to stick around for long, and Tweek wondered why.

Sighing to himself as he stared at Craig from across the lunchroom, Tweek wished he could work up the nerve to go over and talk to him even once. Tweek had no friends at all, which meant that his life got very lonely. It also meant that there was no one to defend him or stand up for him when bullies (again, usually girls) started to pick on him.

He sat about two tables away from where Craig sat at a large round table with Red and her friends. He and Clyde were the only boys at the table. Tweek sighed again as he stared. Maybe he couldn’t date Craig, but he at least wanted to be friends with him. He and Clyde seemed like really chill guys to be around, and heaven knows Tweek could use some chill in his life. As he stared at Craig, he suddenly realized that Craig was staring back.

Blushing furiously, Tweek quickly looked away. Great, now he had been caught staring. Craig probably thought he was a weirdo now. He slipped a tiny glance back in Craig’s direction to see if he was still watching him. His heartbeat ran wild when he saw that he was.

Craig was calmly staring at him, his blue eyes piercing right through him. He seemed to be ignoring whatever Red was yammering on about and had all of his attention on Tweek. Shaking, Tweek tried to look away, but he couldn’t help but stare into those stunning blue eyes. The contact was only broken when Red started yelling at Craig, saying he wasn’t listening to her.

Tweek let out the breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding in. He reached over and grabbed his thermos full of coffee. He knew he probably shouldn’t drink coffee so much, but he couldn’t help it. Something about it, especially the kind his parents made, was extremely addicting. He had become dependent on it to get him through his day.

As Tweek slowly sipped from his thermos, he suddenly became aware of someone standing beside him. Startled, he looked up and saw Red with some of her friends standing over him with her hands on her hips. Tweek gulped nervously.

“Um, c-can I help you?” he asked with a stutter.

Red smirked. “No,” she replied, briskly, “How could a freaky spaz like you help us?”

Tweek felt himself tremble. “Th-Then what do y-you want?” he wondered, silently cursing his nervous twitch.

“We wanted to help you,” Red said, “I was talking to the girls, and we think you drink way too much coffee. Right girls?”

The three girls next to her chuckled and nodded.

“Maybe you wouldn’t be so twitchy all the time if you didn’t drink it so much,” the blond girl, Annie added. Before Tweek could react, she lashed out and snatched the thermos from him.

Tweek stood up, desperately trying to grab it. Unfortunately, he was the shortest boy in his class, and even several girls were taller than him. One of those girls being Annie. She held the thermos out of his reach as he stood on his tiptoes, trying to get it.

“Give it back!” Tweek cried, “Please! I need it!”

“We’re just doing you a favor, Twitch,” Red sneered as her friends laughed.

Tears were starting to come to his eyes as he was now jumping up and down trying to get the thermos back from Annie. The girls simply continued to laugh and surrounded him. They started tossing the thermos back and forth between them, keeping it out of Tweek’s reach.

He couldn’t take it anymore. Why were they being so mean to him? He hadn’t done anything! Tweek crumbled to the floor and curled up, crying. The girls only laughed harder.

“Look!” Red cried between laughs, “The little spaz is crying! What a baby!”

“What do you think you’re doing?” a strong but calm voice demanded.

Tweek opened his eyes and looked up, thinking for sure it was a teacher, but was quite surprised when he saw Craig and Clyde instead.

“Why are you tormenting this kid?” Craig, the one who had spoken before, asked, “What has he done to you?”

Red started to calm down from her laughter. “Come on, babe,” she chuckled, “Look at him! He’s so pathetic! He started crying when we took his thermos!”

Craig’s expression darkened a little. “So? That’s not funny,” he said, “That’s just cruel and mean. Give him back his thermos.”

Red let out an annoyed huff. “Fine,” she muttered, “Only for you, darling. Esther, give it back to him.”

Esther, the girl who currently held the thermos, scoffed, and dropped it on the floor. Thankfully, it was a well-made thermos and the top didn’t come off. Tweek reached out a shaking hand and snatched it.

As the girls walked back to the table, Craig and Clyde stared down at Tweek.

“Are you okay?” Clyde asked, speaking for the first time, “Do you need help?”

“N-No, I’m fine,” Tweek mumbled as he slowly got to his feet. He wiped his tears on his sleeve and hoped he didn’t look too much like a shaken mess. Especially in front of the boy he had a crush on. “Thank you for standing up for me.”

“It’s no trouble,” Craig deadpanned, “She likes to think that just because she’s popular she can do whatever she wants. I have to put her in her place every once in a while.”

Without another word, the two turned around and walked back to their table. Tweek watched them go, wishing he could have Craig stand up for him every time he was bullied. With a heavy sigh, Tweek through the rest of his lunch away and slowly shuffled out of the cafeteria.


	2. Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tweek gets paired up with Craig for a class project and instantly hopes his nerves don't get the best of him.

Tweek slowly shuffled towards his locker, his head down, trying to hide the tears that were still there. He thought back to just a few minutes ago in the cafeteria. Why had Craig been staring at him? There was no way he was interested in Tweek, right? He was straight and already dating Red, the prettiest girl in school. Maybe he had been staring past Tweek at something behind him. Yeah, that had to be it.

Sighing, Tweek finally reached his locker and put in the combination. When he opened his locker, a scrap of paper fluttered out and fell to the floor. Confused, Tweek picked it up and unfolded it. He read it and his heart instantly shattered.

“Hey! You don’t know me, but we all know you! You’re such a loser and a spaz! And don’t think we haven’t noticed you staring at Craig. You really think he would go for a twitchy loser like you? How pathetic! No one wants you here! No one wants you to be near them! You just make things worse for everyone, so why don’t you just kill yourself? No one would miss you, and you’d be doing us all a favor!”

Fresh tears came to Tweek’s eyes. What had he done to deserve this? He had never been mean to anyone, never shunned anyone. Why did everyone hate him? Why couldn’t just one person give him a chance?

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. With a heavy sigh, Tweek slowly made his way to his next class, which was a psych class. Tweek had signed up for it in the hopes that maybe he could learn how to understand people better and figure out what he was doing wrong. It was a tough course, as it was only offered to seniors, but Tweek found it to be his most interesting class. He worked hard in it.

Another reason Tweek enjoyed the class was because Craig was in it, and it was one of the few times he didn’t have Red hovering by his side. She was too dumb to take psychology. This gave Tweek the chance to safely watch Craig from where he sat in the back of the class.

Usually Craig sat in the front of the class, but Tweek, who was sitting in the back corner, was quite surprised when today he walked to the back of the class, taking one of the desks there. While Craig didn’t sit right next to Tweek, he sat two desks away, and the class was fairly small, so there was no one in between them.

Tweek tried not to shake as he carefully looked at Craig out of the corner of his eye. Craig was pulling his notebook from his backpack and setting it on his desk. Then he paused and, as if sensing that he was being watched, looked over at Tweek.

Quickly, Tweek returned his gaze to his desk. That was the second time today he had been caught staring at Craig!

Luckily, Tweek was saved from further embarrassment by the arrival of the teacher. Mrs. Themark was a nice enough woman, but she preferred to teach a book than real life. And whenever the book she was teaching called for a group project, even if it didn’t have to do with anything, she would assign it. Like today.

“All right, students, we’re going to start our next project!” Mrs. Themark announced when everyone was sitting, “You get to partner up and conduct some social experiments together! Isn’t that exciting?”

No one said anything. Tweek sat nervously in his seat, his hands twitching. He hated when they chose their own partners. No one ever wanted to pair with him, and he was always just put with whoever had been unlucky enough not to call a partner in time. And his partner usually made him do all the work.

“Okay, everyone!” Mrs. Themark exclaimed, “Choose your partner and then I’ll tell you the assignment.”

Everyone started scrambling to get their partner so they wouldn’t be stuck with Tweek. The blond sat miserably with his head in his arms, waiting for whoever was last to moan and complain that they had to be with Tweek.

“Hey Craig!” Tweek heard one of the girls say flirtatiously, “You want to be my partner?”

Tweek looked over at Craig, knowing he would say yes. Craig stared at the girl with a bored expression as she twirled her hair on her finger.

“Not really,” he replied, leaving both Tweek and the girl shocked. Craig got up and deliberately walked over and stood in front of Tweek’s desk. “You want to be partners with me?” he asked.

Tweek stared at him surprise. Was Craig, the boy he had been secretly pining after since fourth grade really asking him to be his partner? He felt like he was about to pass out from nervousness, but he managed to regain his composure. He was about to say yes when he was interrupted by an annoyed huff from the girl.

“Really?” she scowled, “You’re choosing that loser over me?”

Craig whipped around and glared at her. The girl immediately shut her mouth with a nervous squeak and shuffled away. He turned back to Tweek.

“So, will you be partners with me?” he asked again.

“Y-Yes,” Tweek managed to squeak out, his voice barely audible. Craig grinned lazily.

“Awesome,” he replied. He sat down at the desk next to Tweek, who was trying desperately not to let his nervousness show.

“Okay, class! Has everyone picked a partner?” Mrs. Themark wondered. When she was met with positive replies, she smiled. “Excellent! Now on to the assignment!” She started passing around a stack of papers explaining the project.

Tweek quickly read it over and instantly felt nervous again. They had a choice between three prompts. They could do a study that involved polling random people on the streets. But that involved talking to strangers. And if there was one lesson Tweek’s parents taught him that he took to heart, it was never talk to strangers.

So, that one was out. The second one involved the two students testing to see how they reacted to certain stimuli. It listed several things to try, such as your partner lightly running their fingers over your skin. Tweek shuddered just thinking about it. He didn’t want to come off as creepy or weird to Craig.

The third one involved participants taking a quiz to determine their personality and getting friends and family to take the quiz as well, then comparing results and trying to determine how compatible the personalities are to one another.

None of them sounded like much fun to Tweek. He didn’t have any friends, and his only family was his mom and dad. He looked over at Craig, deciding to go with whichever one he picked. Craig looked over the paper, then turned to Tweek.

“So, which one do you think we should do?” he asked in that drawl, monotone voice of his. Tweek startled a bit.

“GAH! I-I don’t know!” he stuttered, “They all sound horrible!” He shook a little and tried to calm down. “Um, I guess the third one sounds like the least painful.”

The very edge of Craig’s mouth curved into a tiny smile. “All right,” he said, “We’ll do that one.”

“U-Unless you want to do one of the other ones!” Tweek blurted out. What if Craig actually wanted to do one of the other ones, but only asked him out of pity?

Craig let out a very soft chuckle. “No, the third prompt is fine,” he replied, “I was actually hoping you would choose that one. I don’t really feel like talking to random strangers, and the second one just sounds weird.”

Tweek felt himself calming down at his words. Perhaps this project wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe this was the chance he had been pining for all these years to get to know Craig better and maybe even become his friend. His heart started beating faster just by the thought of it.

The rest of class was spent with all the pairs discussing how to start their projects. Craig got out his phone to look up the quiz the paper was talking about and scrolled through the questions to see what they were like. Half of them were multiple choice, and the other half was short response. Most of the questions weren’t so bad, but some were deeply personal. The question Tweek dreaded the most, knowing he and Craig were going to have to fill out this test and compare results, was the one asking to define the test tasker’s sexuality.

If Craig saw that he was gay, he might think Tweek was trying to go after him. Then he wouldn’t want to be partners anymore and demand to get a new partner. Then Tweek would be even further away from him than when all of this started. And he knew he couldn’t bring himself to lie on any of the questions. He was too honest for that.

“Some of these questions are kind of stupid,” Craig commented, snapping Tweek out of his thoughts, “I think whoever made this test needs to update it. It was confirmed quite a while ago that the glass half full question doesn’t actually mean anything. And how does knowing a person’s favorite fruit determine personality?”

Tweek stared at him, not knowing wat to say. “Y-Yeah,” he decided to agree, “If anything that would determine a person’s taste more than personality.”

Again, the corner of Craig’s mouth curled into a smile. He opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Tweek quickly shoveled his things into his backpack as Craig calmly did the same.

“So,” Craig started as they packed their things, “You want to meet up after school to go over this test?”

Heart pounding, Tweek nodded. “S-Sure,” he replied nervously, “We could meet at my parent’s coffee shop, if you want. But we don’t have to!”

“That sounds good,” Craig told him, “That’s Tweak Bros, right? I’ll be there. How about we exchange numbers so we can work out the details.”

Tweek tried not to let his excitement show on his face. The only numbers he had on his phone were his parents and his doctor. He had always dreamed of getting Craig’s number.

“Y-Yeah,” he answered and dug into his backpack, “Let me just get my-“

He stopped when a piece of paper fell out of his pack and landed on the floor. He froze up when he saw it. Why had he kept that?

Craig stooped and picked it up. Probably to make sure it wasn’t too dirty or anything, he flipped it over and saw the note on the other side. The note Tweek had found in his locker that morning. The one telling him he should kill himself.

Tweek didn’t know what to do as Craig read the note. Suddenly, his expression changed. Tweek had watched Craig long enough to know that his neutral expression never changed very much. Even when he was happy or sad or angry, he usually only showed it with a twitch of the eyebrow, or curve of his mouth. But Tweek had never seen the furious look full of rage that crossed his face. It frightened Tweek a little. Especially since he had no idea why Craig looked so angry. Was he really mad about something in the note? Oh God! It was the part that revealed that Tweek had been staring at him! Now he knew his dirty secret!

Without any warning, Craig suddenly started angrily ripping up the note, the look of fury never leaving his face. Tweek watched him with slight horror. After Craig had torn the paper into the smallest bits he could, he tossed them to the floor.

Neither of them said anything. Craig had closed his eyes and was breathing heavily, trying to calm himself down. Tweek shook with nervousness, but didn’t want to say anything in case Craig snapped at him. After a minute, Craig spoke.

“Listen to me,” he said in a low voice, almost like a growl, and Tweek was sure he was going to get it, “Don’t ever listen to anything anyone says about you!”

Tweek stopped shaking. Wait, wasn’t Craig mad at him for staring at him?

“W-What do you mean?” he wondered nervously.

“You’re not a loser,” Craig clarified, “And you shouldn’t kill yourself. No matter what anyone says, you’re perfect the way you are! So don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! And if anyone has a problem with that, then fuck them!”

With that, Craig snatched up his bag and stormed out of the room, leaving Tweek utterly shocked and confused.


	3. Test

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tweek meets up with Craig at the coffee shop and they take the personality test.

After school was over, Tweek walked towards his parent’s coffee shop, a flurry of emotions dancing in his head. Why had that note upset Craig so much? It wasn’t directed at him! And then he had stormed off. Tweek couldn’t have been more confused. Was there some hidden message in the note that he wasn’t getting?

When he entered the coffee shop, he was quite surprised to find Craig sitting at one of the booths. What was he doing here? But then Tweek remembered that they had agreed to meet at his parent’s shop to take the personality test.

Shaking nervously, Tweek walked over to the booth and sat down across from him. Craig looked up as he sat down.

“Hey,” Craig greeted, back to his usual monotone, “Sorry I stormed out like that.”

“I-It’s all right,” Tweek replied, “B-But why did you get so a-angry? That n-note was for me, n-not you.”

Craig closed his eyes and sighed. “It’s complicated,” he muttered, “Let’s just say I know what you’re going through and leave it at that.”

Tweek desperately wanted to know what he meant by that, but he knew he shouldn’t pry. He was just grateful that Craig at least seemed to sympathize with him.

He suddenly noticed Craig scrounging around in his backpack and pulling out two packets of papers. He handed one to Tweek. “Here, I took the liberty of printing out the test for us,” he said, “I also printed out more copies for anyone who wants to take it. The project says we have to compare at least ten people, not including ourselves.”

Tweek nodded as he took the packet from Craig. He hoped Craig could think of eight other people to test, because the only people who ever talked to Tweek were his parents. Sighing, he flipped through the packet and despaired at seeing there were fifty questions. It was a good thing his parents didn’t make him work on school days.

They both stayed quiet as they started answering the questions. Tweek had to write very slowly and deliberately. If he wrote at his regular pace, then his writing would be totally illegible. He also had to concentrate on not shaking as much so his lettering wouldn’t be too squiggly. His letters were very large and jagged.

Because of all that, he finished long after Craig did. He also had some trouble on the multiple-choice questions. For each question there were five choices to choose from plus the choice “none of the above” to determine how the person would react to different situations and problems. Tweek found himself answering “none of the above” for a majority of them. For example, if a random stranger came up and introduced himself, he would not greet him back, ignore him, introduce himself, immediately start joking around, or start off with a high-five or a fist bump. He would do the logical thing and run away screaming!

The short answer questions were just as, if not more difficult. They were quite personal, and Tweek found himself wishing they had done one of the other prompts instead. Of course, there was the all-telling “what do you define your sexuality as?” But there were also questions like “what do you hope to accomplish in life?” And “what do you dream about?”

When Tweek finally finished, Craig had drank two hot chocolates and was on his third one. Tweek felt a little embarrassed at having taken so long to finish. Craig had his eyes closed and was simply holding his hot chocolate in his hands to warm them.

“NNG! I’m done!” Tweek said, his head twitching to one side. Craig opened his eyes.

“Oh good,” he hummed. He didn’t seem at all irritated or mad. “You want to swap tests now? Or like, wait until later?”

Tweek twitched before responding. “Gah! Might as w-well get it o-over with,” he replied.

Craig smiled gently and handed him his packet while Tweek handed over his own. As Tweek read over Craig’s test, he was rather surprised to see that he too answered, “none of the above” for a majority of the multiple choice. Including the one about the stranger. But unlike Tweek, he wrote in margins about what he would do instead. His handwriting was neat, but also rather tiny, and he wrote in cursive. For the stranger question he wrote “stare at him and wonder why this random stranger was talking to me.” Tweek couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle at that. He then looked up at Craig when he made a sound.

“Huh,” the black-haired boy said, “I don’t know why, but I never thought you would be gay.” Tweek stared at him confusion and shock. Didn’t it bother him that he was gay? “I mean, I guess it’s kind of understandable,” Craig continued, “Almost every girl in our school are assholes. Except for Wendy, I guess. She’s pretty nice. Too bad Stan already has her.”

“GAH!” Tweek interrupted with a shout, “Doesn’t the fact that I’m gay bother you?”

Craig looked up at him in confusion. “No,” he replied earnestly, “Why would it?”

Tweek shook as he spoke. “B-Because most guys g-get weirded out when they learn someone is g-gay,” he explained, “They always think that g-gays are just attracted to every guy they see!”

Craig simply shrugged. “Well, I’m not most guys,” he commented, “I know that being a gay or lesbian doesn’t change anything about love. It’s the same as love between straight people, just with the same gender. You don’t see straight guys going around, falling in love with every girl he sees.”

Trying to control his shaking, Tweek simply nodded. It made a lot of sense when he said it like that. Why couldn’t other people figure that out?

He returned to reviewing Craig’s test. He finally got to the short answers he had written and was quite surprised by how he answered them. And his eyes widened when he saw Craig’s response to the question “what do you define your sexuality as?”

Pansexual. Craig didn’t care what gender the person was. Tweek felt his breath catch in his throat. Maybe this meant that Craig could come to like him? At least as a friend?  
Tweek started slowly getting more excited as he read Craig’s answers. He learned that he played the guitar, he was more liberal than conservative, he dreamed about space, and what he wanted to accomplish in life was “to get as far away from here as possible.” Tweek could, on some level, relate. He found himself to be quite liberal, and he would like to get away from this town and to somewhere he wouldn’t be treated like a freak.

“You done yet?” Craig asked suddenly, breaking Tweek from his thoughts.

“AH!” Tweek yelled in response. With shaky hands, he slid the packet back over to Craig, and Craig handed Tweek back his own.

“Um, so what do we do now?” Tweek wondered nervously.

“Well now we’re supposed to get other people to take the test,” Craig replied, “Then after we do that we’re supposed to go back to the website and compare everyone’s answers. See how everyone matches up, or whatever.”

“GAH! That’s sounds like too much pressure, man,” Tweek mumbled. Craig gave him a gentle smile.

“It’s all right,” he said calmly, “We’ll do it together, so we can help each other.”

Tweek tried to control his trembling as he nodded. He was about to ask something when the bell at the entrance of the coffee shop chimed. Craig’s face lit up when he saw who had entered.

“Clyde!” he called to his friend, waving him over. Tweek turned in his seat to see Clyde spot them and grin. He walked over and slid into the booth next to Craig. Immediately, Tweek noticed Craig lightly press against him.

“What’s up guys?” Clyde asked, “I didn’t know you liked coffee, Craig.”

“We’re working on a project for psych class,” Craig told him, “And this is hot chocolate.” He dug into his backpack and bought out one of the packets. “I’m glad you’re here. You could help us out. We have to test ten people for our project, so could you fill this out?”

Clyde grinned at him. “Of course,” he replied, taking the packet, “Anyone got a pencil?”

Hands shaking, Tweek passed him a pencil as Craig looked at him. “You don’t have to do it now, if you don’t want to,” he informed. Clyde merely shook his head.

“Nah. Might as well get out of the way so you don’t have to worry about it,” he said, rapidly going through the multiple-choice questions. He slowed down though, once he got to the short answer questions.

Tweek found himself rather amused as he watched Clyde work. He had a look of deep concentration on his face, with his tongue sticking out, as if these were the hardest questions ever asked on any test.

He was so absorbed in watching Clyde, he almost didn’t notice that Craig was leaning on his friend, his eyes closed, looking totally relaxed. Tweek wondered if this was just a casual friend thing they did. He wouldn’t know, as he never had a friend before in his life.

“Finished!” Clyde exclaimed suddenly, startling Craig out of his relaxed state.

“Don’t startle me like that,” Craig muttered. Clyde grinned at him and put his arm around his shoulders.

“Sorry,” he said, not sounding sorry at all. He handed the packet to Tweek. “You wanna look it over first? I’m pretty sure this one would already know how I answered every question.”

Tweek trembled a little as he took the packet. “Um, sure,” he replied. He flipped through the papers quickly, not wanting to keep them waiting. Clyde sounded like a happy jock kind of person. His answers seemed to clash a lot with some of Craig’s answers, making Tweek wonder why they were friends. Why would the quiet reserved Craig be friends with someone like the boisterous athlete Clyde? But it wasn’t really his place to judge them.

After he was done looking through it, Tweek handed the packet to Craig who unceremoniously shoved it into his backpack. “I’ll look over it later,” he explained, “I have to get home before my parents flip out.”

Clyde slid out of the booth to allow Craig to get out. “See you guys tomorrow,” he said. Both of them waved good-bye, and Tweek stared out the window until Craig was completely out of sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who don’t know, pansexual is liking anyone, regardless of their gender identity. So, a pansexual person could love someone who’s transgendered or something. I just wanted to make that clear for anyone who didn’t know like I did. I had to look it up. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Seems there’s more to Craig than meets the eye.


	4. Nerves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clyde tells Tweek how he and Craig first met.

Tweek sighed and turned back around. When he did, he nearly feel out of his seat in surprise. Clyde was still there, smiling pleasantly.

“Hi. I’m still here,” Clyde said, the smile never leaving his face.

“Sorry,” Tweek mumbled, “I forgot, and I was startled.” Clyde let out a light chuckle.

“That’s all right,” he laughed. He propped his elbows up on the table and rested his head on his hands. “So, Tweek, was it? What do you think of Craig?”

Tweek started a little. He didn’t expect him to ask that question. He didn’t know how to respond to it either. He couldn’t tell him he was secretly obsessed with his friend and wished he could date him, even though this was the first day they had even talked to each other. He twitched and thought of something safer to say.

“He NNG! Seems nice,” he said slowly, “He’s like, the first person who’s ever been nice to me, at least.” He let out a small sigh. “I was kind of hoping through this project we might become… friends.”

Clyde smiled at him. “Yeah, Craig’s an interesting guy to be around,” he agreed, “If you don’t know him that well, he may come off as cold and uncaring, but he’s actually very passionate about the things he cares about. I would know. I’ve known him practically my entire life. Since preschool, actually.”

“Wow,” Tweek murmured, “I wish I had a friend like that. Someone I’ve known my whole life. I don’t have any friends, really.” He looked up at Clyde, who was now frowning at him. Tweek’s eye twitched. “What?”

“That’s really sad,” he answered, “Everyone should have at least one friend.”

Tweek sighed heavily. “I don’t,” he muttered, “I only have people who tolerate me.”

Clyde suddenly got up and went to sit next to him. He slung his arm over Tweek’s shoulders. “Well, I’ll be your friend!” he said happily.

“GAH! Really?” Tweek asked nervously, “But you don’t even know me!”

“So?” Clyde asked, “I don’t know half my friends, but that doesn’t stop me from hanging out with them. Besides, no one knows anyone until they do. That’s how you become friends.”

Tweek was pretty sure Clyde was trying to say something philosophic and deep, but he didn’t get it. Still, he appreciated the thought at least.

“NNG! Thanks,” he said. Clyde smiled at him.

“No problem,” he replied, “And I’m sure you’ll easily make friends with Craig. You seem like the kind of person he likes.”

Wait, he was the kind of person Craig liked? What did that mean? Did Craig already like him? Did he mean in a romantic sort of way or a platonic sort of way? Wait, if he was the sort of person Craig liked, then why was he dating Red? Wait! Did this mean he was like Red in some way?! He couldn’t handle that!

“GAH!” he shouted, flinching hard. He yelled again when Clyde touched his shoulder.

“Are you all right?” he asked, “You looked like you were having a nervous breakdown.”

Tweek tried to control his shaking. “Sorry,” he muttered, “Sometimes my imagination just runs wild and I can’t the horrible thoughts and feelings.” Before Clyde could comment, he decided to change the topic. “So, um, how did you and Craig meet?” The two seemed like such opposites, he really wanted to know.

Clyde grinned at him as he recalled the memory. “That goes back a long way,” he answered. “Back when we were only about three or four years old and we entered preschool.”

-Flashback-

Craig had always been an introvert, even as a young child. He was quite shy around people, and never went out of his way to talk to anyone. He entered preschool about halfway through, as his parents were over protective and over controlling of his life.

On his first day, after the teacher introduced him and then dismissed them for play time, the other kids immediately went back to playing in their own groups and completely ignored Craig. No one even gave him a second glance.

Upon realizing no one was going to talk to him, Craig toddled off to a corner of the room were a few buckets of less popular or outdated toys were. He dug through some of them and pulled out a plastic rocket ship. It didn’t have any flashy lights or sounds or cool features, which is why the other kids quickly abandoned it. But Craig didn’t care. That just meant he could play with it as much as he wanted.

He then went over to another bin and rustled around until he found a group of those little green army men. These would be his spacemen. He picked out a few smaller random toys to be aliens then set them all on the ground with the spaceship. He was about to start quietly playing by himself, when he heard a bunch of excited cheers and looked up.

A large group of the kids surrounded Clyde Donovan. He was easily the most popular kid in class, as he was nice, pleasant to be around, and always thought of the most fun games to play. The kids were all crowding around him, eager to hear what new game he thought of.

Craig sighed to himself. It’s not like he didn’t want any friends. But his parents kept him sheltered all his life, and he didn’t really know how to interact with anyone. Sure, some would argue that’s what preschool was for, but then again most children had been allowed to interact with other children by that time. Or other human beings. Craig had not.

He started to set up the army men and “aliens,” and even managed to stuff one of the men into the rocket. He had just landed the rocket on a foreign planet, when a shadow fell across him. With wide eyes, he looked up and saw Clyde standing in front of him.

“Hi!” Clyde greeted happily.

Craig stared at him and didn’t say anything.

“What are you doing over here all by yourself?” Clyde wondered, “Don’t you want to come play with the rest of us?”

Looking down, Craig murmured, “Not really.”

“Oh,” Clyde said, “Why not?”

“Too many people,” Craig replied in a tiny voice.

Clyde sat down in front of him. “Ok, but you don’t want to just play by yourself, do you?” Craig shook his head, still looking down. Clyde grinned. “Ok, then I’ll play with you!”

“Um, you don’t have to,” Craig mumbled, glancing at the group of kids who were giving him weird looks. Clyde let out a laugh.

“It’s ok! Really! I felt like I was being, um…” he paused, trying to think of the word he wanted, “Um… what’s that word? When you feel like you’re being squeezed a lot?”

“I don’t know,” Craig answered honestly.

“So, what are you playing?” Clyde asked, switching topics.

Craig looked down at the rocket and the army man. “Spaceman,” he said, “Um, I really like space.”

“Cool!” Clyde exclaimed, moving closer to him, “I like space to! It’s so big and stuff! I always like to think of what sort of aliens might be out there. I try to draw them, but I don’t draw too good yet.”

A small smile crept its way onto Craig’s face. “I’m Craig, by the way,” he said shyly.

“Nice to meet ya, Craig!” Clyde proclaimed happily, “I’m Clyde!”

That was only the beginning of Craig and Clyde’s long friendship together.

-Present Day-

As Clyde wrapped up his tale, Tweek couldn’t help but stare. “Wow,” he murmured, “So, you just went right up to him and started talking to him, huh? There was nothing in particular that drew you to him?”

“Not really,” Clyde replied, “I mean, I saw that he looked kind of lonely. And I don’t know what it was about him, but we just clicked right away.” He let out a soft chuckle. “It’s funny. We very few things in common, but he’s my best friend.”

“But what about your other friends?” Tweek wondered.

Clyde shrugged. “Eh, most of them kind of left after a while,” he said, but without a hint of sadness in his voice, “They didn’t like that I started hanging around Craig so much. But I didn’t really care. Most of them were fair weather friends anyway.”

Tweek blinked at him. “B-But doesn’t that make you sad?” he asked, “All your friends left you!”

“Not all of them,” Clyde corrected, “I still have some close friends who stuck around. Token, Jimmy, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny are still my friends. And now I have you, right?”

Tweek felt a small smile come to his face. “Right,” he said.

…

Tweek never slept very well, if he slept at all. The coffee he drank all the time probably didn’t help very much, but he felt like he would go mad without it. He laid awake in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He didn’t know whether or not to believe today actually happened.

He finally got to talk to Craig, and Clyde had offered to be his friend. Maybe he was dreaming? But that was unlikely. That would require sleeping. Maybe they were pulling an elaborate prank? That made more sense, and knowing his luck that’s exactly what was going on.

“GAH!” The sudden buzzing on his phone startled him. He quickly scrambled out of bed and grabbed his phone. He was quite surprised to see he had a text message. No one had ever text messaged him before. With shaking hands, he opened it to read.

Craig: Hey, Tweek? You still awake? Clyde gave me your number.

Craig?! Craig was texting him? He had already forgotten he had exchanged numbers with Clyde, and that he and Craig had forgotten to. But he didn’t actually think either of them would actually text him. Swallowing his nervousness, Tweek typed back.

Tweek: Yeah, I’m still awake. I never sleep. Ever.

Craig: Heh, I can’t sleep either. Wanna meet up at Stark’s Pond? We could just chat for a while or something. I can’t bother Clyde, he actually sleeps.

Tweek felt his heart soar into his throat. Craig wanted to hang out? With him? Was this for real? This couldn’t possibly be real!

…Could it?

Tweek: Sure. I’ll be there soon.

Craig: Ok, see you in a bit.

Shivering with anticipation, Tweek picked up his thermos, quietly went downstairs, put on his coat, and slipped out of the house. He headed towards Stark’s Pond, trying not let his nerves get the best of him.


	5. Like

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tweek and Craig hang out together for a bit, and Craig shows Tweek a special place.

It took all of Tweek’s courage and nerves not to just turn around and run home as he walked towards Stark’s Pond. He didn’t think he could handle being with his crush alone at night. All alone. At night. With his crush.

Just when he decided to bail, he spotted Stark’s Pond and saw Craig standing at the water’s edge, staring up at the night sky. And when Tweek thought he could still slip away, it was like Craig could hear his thoughts and turned around, spotting him. His mouth curled into a small smile.

“Hey,” he greeted the trembling blond, “There you are. For a minute I thought you had changed your mind and bailed.”

“W-Why would I do that?” Tweek replied with a nervous laugh. He decided it would be best not to tell Craig that that was exactly what he thought about doing.

Craig waited until Tweek was by his side before putting a gentle arm around him and started walking. Tweek felt his heart leap to his throat from Craig’s touch. He had to resist the urge to press right up against Craig as they walked.

“Tweek, I’m not going to beat around the bush with you,” Craig said after a while, “I like you.” Tweek nearly stumbled at his words.

“R-Really?” he asked, flustered. Craig nodded.

“When I saw you at lunch, I thought that I wanted to get to know you better,” he explained, “That’s why I wanted to be your partner for this project. I thought it could help us get to know each other better. That is, if you want.”

Tweek felt like his heart was going to explode by how fast it was beating. Could this really be happening? The guy he had a crush on since God knows when actually liked him? He tried hard to control his trembling as he spoke.

“Um, I, er, I never really,” unfortunately he couldn’t control his stuttering, “I like you too, Craig,” he finally got out.

Craig gave him a soft smile before turning forwards. “I’m glad you feel the same,” he continued, “I was worried you would think I was cold and distant or something.”

“I wouldn’t think that!” Tweek told him, “GNN! You stood up for me in lunch the other day. You even told off your girlfriend.”

Smirking, Craig looked down at him. “Yeah,” he agreed, “She really needs to learn that she’s not queen of the school. She can’t just do whatever she wants.”

Tweek was a little surprised to hear Craig talk about Red that way. But then again, maybe couples didn’t always sing praises about each other. Not that he would know. Still, he was grateful that Craig wasn’t trying to defend her actions to him or anything.

Craig suddenly started steering Tweek towards the trees. “Come on,” he said, “I want to show you something.”

Tweek shook a little as he nervously followed Craig. They were heading into the woods, and Tweek was starting to regret this. It was so dark, anything could be in there. Craig could be luring him into a trap for all he knew. Or there could be bears. Sure, no bears had ever been reported in South Park, but there was still a chance.

But as Craig suddenly looped his arm through his, Tweek found his nerves starting to calm. Somehow, despite not knowing him for long, Tweek trusted Craig. Just feeling Craig beside him made Tweek feel better.

Eventually, they arrived at a tall, strong tree. Tweek looked up and was surprised to see a large, well-built tree house sitting comfortably in its branches. Tweek gaped at it.

“Wow!” he sighed, “Is that your tree house?”

“It is now,” Craig chuckled, “Clyde and I found this tree house a few years ago. We don’t know who built it. It was abandoned, so we claimed it as our secret hide out. We like to come here to get away from everything.” He took a few steps up the ladder that was built on the tree. “Come on, I want to show you how we’ve decorated.”

Tweek nodded a little nervously. He had never been in a tree house before. Was it safe? But Craig and Clyde had been going up there for a few years so it had to be. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Tweek climbed the ladder after Craig.

Craig helped Tweek up the last few steps and into the house before breaking away to turn on a lamp, and Tweek got to look at what Craig and Clyde had done.

The house was a fairly good size, with enough height to stand up. There was a mattress in the corner with soft looking pillows and blankets covering it. There was a desk by the open window with a solar powered desk lamp. There was a chest filled with who-knows-what. On all the walls were drawings and paintings with varying degrees of competence. Almost all of them were space scenes. There were also a few lamps to keep the place well lit. A round colorful rug was in the middle of the room.

“Wow,” Tweek whispered, “This place is amazing! Did you and Clyde make all those pictures?”

“Yeah,” Craig replied, blushing a little, “When we found this place, I decided to dig out a bunch of our old pictures we did together. Clyde would always draw the aliens, and I would make the scene. It was something we liked to do. Still do, I guess.”

Tweek nodded and looked around a little bit more. “What’s the bed for?” he wondered.

“Well, sometimes I just need to be away from my parents,” Craig explained, “So, when I’m upset I sleep out here. Clyde joins me sometimes. Well, most of the times. We put a tight mattress cover to protect it from bugs, and we keep extra blankets and pillows in that chest.”

Craig walked over to the mattress and sat down. After looking around a bit more, Tweek walked over and sat down next to him. “This place really is wonderful,” he admitted, “I wish I had a place where I could go to escape life.”

Grinning, Craig put an arm around him. “This is your place now, too,” he told him, “I only tell my closest friends about this place. Which is you and Clyde. No one else is allowed to know about this tree house.”

Tweek looked at him with wide eyes. “I promise I won’t tell anyone,” he said, understanding the amount of trust Craig was giving to him. Craig’s mile widened.

“I’m glad you like this place,” he said, “Feel free to add your own touches to it if you want. I want you to feel comfortable here.”

Smiling, Tweek laid back onto the mattress, and Craig laid down next to him. “I’m thinking I’m probably going to sleep here tonight,” Craig added, “I don’t feel like going back to my own house.”

“Won’t your parents be worried if they discover you gone?” Tweek wondered nervously.

Craig scoffed. “Probably not,” he huffed, “They only care about me if I’m not living up to their standards of ‘normality.’” His tone was incredibly bitter.

Tweek wanted to question what he meant, but decided it was probably not his place yet. They had just become friends after all. But he did decide to share a bit of his own.

“Yeah, my parents don’t really care about me either,” he told Craig, “They care more about their precious coffee shop than me. I haven’t even told them that I’m gay because I know they’ll just tell me to keep quiet about it, so I don’t ‘ruin their image’ or some garbage.”

Craig smiled warmly at him. “Hey, even they don’t care, I do,” he said, “If you’re gay, then that’s awesome. Just get a little bit of confidence, and you could be a certified dude magnet.”

Tweek felt a blush spread across his face. “Well, I don’t know about that,” he murmured. Craig gently nudged him.

“I do,” he leered, “You’re pretty cute, if you ask me.”

Again, Tweek felt his face heat up. “A-Are you f-flirting with me?” he squeaked. Craig couldn’t help but laugh and give a small wink.

“What would you do if I was flirting with you?” he asked.

Tweek didn’t have a response to that. He didn’t want to admit that he actually kind of liked it. He was getting hit on by the boy he had a crush on for who knows how long. He was looking away, but when he looked back, Craig was wiggling his eyebrows in a goofy way, and Tweek couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Craig started laughing as well, and soon they had both fallen over in laughter. When they finally stopped, they simply laid there, catching their breathes.

“Is it all right if I stay here tonight too?” Tweek requested when he finally got his breath back, “I’m starting to get tired and I don’t want to have to walk home in the dark.”

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Craig replied, “Hope you don’t mind sharing a bed.”

Tweek felt himself blush and he tried not to sound nervous. “I don’t mind at all,” he responded.


	6. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Craig reflects on his friendships through the years.

When Craig woke up, it took him a moment to remember that Tweek had slept in the tree house with him. Tweek was fast asleep next to him, and Craig couldn’t help but notice how peaceful he looked. He wasn’t twitching or mumbling, and his face was calm. Craig had to resist the urge to run a hand through Tweek’s thick golden locks.

Craig would be lying if he said he wasn’t a bit attracted to the blond. His twitching and nervousness strangely drew Craig to him. But then, Craig had always been interested in people like that. People who had little quirks to them that in a High School setting like this the “normal” students would deem “weird.” No one ever wanted to befriend these kids simply because they were different. But Craig liked those kinds of people. The weird, abnormal, different kind of people. They were far more interesting people to hang around. The only “normal” person Craig could stand to be around was Clyde, and he was quirky enough to be interesting. If Craig had his way, he would surround himself with the kids that society declared were “losers.”

But Craig couldn’t have his way. Because his parents were in control of his life. And he was always surrounded by people he hated.

Shaking the thoughts away, Craig looked back down at Tweek. He had shifted a bit in his sleep, and was now curled up with a hand over his eyes. Craig smiled gently and slowly reached out a hand to touch his hair.

He quickly retracted it, though, when he heard the hatch door shudder slightly, then carefully push open. Craig stared as Clyde, with much care and skill, pulled himself up through the hatch into the tree house. Craig’s eyes instantly lit up.

“Clyde!” he exclaimed quietly, speaking softly to avoid waking Tweek. He carefully got up from the mattress and covered Tweek back up before going over to his friend. He threw his arms around Clyde, who returned the hug.

“What are you doing here so early, Clyde?” Craig wondered when he pulled away from the hug.

“Looking for you,” Clyde answered, giving Craig a quick kiss on the cheek, “I went to your house, but you weren’t there, so I knew you were here.”

Smiling, Craig pressed up against Clyde, happily snuggling up to him. Clyde chuckled slightly and looked over at the mattress, just now noticing Tweek. He grinned.

“I had a feeling you would bring him here,” he said, “You were telling me how much you like him. I just didn’t expect it to be so soon.”

Craig grinned sheepishly. It was true that he had gone off on how much he wanted to befriend Tweek, and now he was a little embarrassed by it. He wasn’t one for losing his cool that often, even in front of Clyde.

“I hope he would be ok with keeping our friendship a secret,” he told Clyde, “I don’t want anyone knowing that we’re friends now. Especially Red. She’ll just tell my parents and then they’ll do everything they can to get him sent away. Just like all the others…”

Clyde put an arm around Craig and pressed him close. “I’m sure he’ll be fine as long as you find plenty of time to spend with him,” he advised, “I’m just taking a guess here, but I think we’re the first two friends he’s ever had.”

Looking down at Tweek, Craig couldn’t even start to imagine how lonely he must have been all these years. The thought made him wrap his arms around himself for comfort. He promised himself he wouldn’t let his parents find out about this one.

“Hey Clyde,” he said, “Do you think, um, do think there’s a chance he could come to like me as… you know… more than a friend?”

Clyde couldn’t hide the small smile that formed on his face. But at the same time, he felt a dark feeling rise in him. He knew exactly where Craig was going with this, and if the past was any indicator, this path would only lead to heartache.

“Be careful, Craig,” he warned, “You’ve barely just met, and I don’t want you to get hurt. I would make sure you’ll be able to keep him around before you go asking him on a date.”

“I know,” Craig admitted, letting out a heavy sigh, “But look how cute he is! Even in his sleep he’s adorable! And his twitching and stuttering is one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen.”

Letting out a soft chuckle, Clyde wrapped his arms around Craig and pulled him close. Craig leaned up and kissed his friend deeply. Clyde leaned slightly into the kiss before pulling away.

“Don’t worry, Clyde,” Craig told him, “I’ll spend more time getting to know him before I ask him out. All right?”

“Ok,” Clyde replied, smiling softly, “Geez, you have it bad for this kid, don’t you?”

Craig looked over at Tweek’s sleeping form before answering. “I don’t know what it is about him that draws me towards him more than anyone else,” he admitted, “I wasn’t even smitten with Thomas this fast. We had to be friends for at least a month before I admitted I was attracted to him.”

“Maybe this means you’re meant to be with Tweek,” Clyde suggested with a shrug.

Looking at Tweek again, Craig could feel his heart racing. Maybe Clyde was right. Maybe this was the universe’s way of telling him he had finally found the one who would free him. The one who could save him from Red and his parents. Could he afford to be that hopeful? Was he willing to take that chance?

I’ll still have to be careful, he reminded himself, I don’t want my parents to find out.

“I think I’m going to go back to sleep for a while,” Craig decided after a moment, “I was up late last night, and so was Tweek.”

Clyde smiled and leaned down, kissing Craig deeply on the mouth. After a moment, he pulled away. “All right, I’ll let you get back to that,” he said, making his way to the hatch. Craig watched him with soft eyes.

“I love you, Clyde,” he told his friend. Clyde smiled again.

“Love you too, bud,” he replied before climbing down the ladder.

Craig watched him go before walking back to the mattress and getting back under the covers with Tweek. He stared at the sleeping blond before very gently and carefully running a hand through his hair.

“I hope you are the one,” he whispered, “I don’t think I could survive having my heart broken again.”

…

When Craig woke again, Tweek was starting to stir. He sat up and watched as Tweek’s eyelids shifted and he slowly blinked awake. Craig watched as he sat up and blinked some more, looking around. As if he forgot where he was.

“Morning, sunshine,” Craig greeted, grinning slightly, “Forget where you were?”

Tweek blushed a little. “Maybe,” he murmured, “Um, did you sleep well last night?”

Craig nodded. “Yeah,” he replied, “Sometimes I sleep better here than in my own bed. Just knowing that I won’t be waking up to my parents’ judgmental stares, or Red incessantly calling me. It helps me sleep.”

“Er, can I ask you a question?” Tweek wondered, his hands fidgeting.

“Sure.”

“Do you not like Red?” he asked, “You seem to complain about her a lot.”

Craig made sure he was looking Tweek directly in the eye when he answered him. “No,” he replied, “I don’t like her. In fact, I hate her.”

Tweek gave him a perplexed look, as if he was not expecting that answer. “Th-Then why are you dating her?”

Suppressing a sigh, Craig looked away. “It’s not like I have a choice,” he muttered, “My dad works with Red’s dad. They’re business partners in some tycoon bullshit, I don’t know, but my dad is making me date her because she likes me. And I’m not allowed to break up with her, because when I try she goes whining to her dad, who threatens my dad to pull out of the business. Then my dad beats me until I agree to get back together with her.”

“That’s horrible,” Tweek whispered, “What about your mom?”

Craig scoffed. “She’s just as bad as my dad,” he hissed, “If I even look at her funny, she slaps me. She’s always looking through my phone and my stuff to see if I have anything she doesn’t like, then she chews me out like I’m the worst person in the world.”

“Oh my God,” Tweek breathed. As Craig stared down at the mattress, he felt Tweek move closer to him and lightly press against him. The contact made Craig’s heartrate speed up, and he tried hard not to blush.

“How can you keep such a cool façade all the time?” Tweek wondered, and Craig saw that his eyes were starting to tear up. “How can you get in front of everyone at school and act like nothing is ever wrong?”

Craig shrugged and gently leaned into Tweek. “Honestly, I have no idea,” he replied, “I probably would have killed myself long ago if it weren’t for my friends, what few that I have.”

Tweek looked at him with wide eyes. “Please don’t talk like that!” he gasped, “There are so many people who would miss you if you were gone!” He paused for a moment, and looked away. “I know I would, at least,” he murmured, “I know we haven’t known each other for long, but you and Clyde are the first people who’ve ever offered to be my friend. And I’m really grateful for that.”

Craig couldn’t help the smile that formed on his face. He knew he was probably being a little bold by doing this, but he reached out and wrapped his arms around Tweek, pulling him close. Tweek let out a small gasp, but otherwise didn’t object.

“Thank you, Tweek,” he whispered, “It’s nice to know someone cares about me. Well, someone other than just Clyde. It sucks always feeling like everyone in the world is against you.”

He felt Tweek gently rest his head against his chest. “I know what you mean,” he mumbled, “No one has ever been nice to me. My parents just tolerate me, and guys just sort of ignore me. I think my parents only had me for the free labor.”

Craig pressed Tweek a bit closer to himself. “It’s ok, Tweek,” he said in a soft voice, “We have each other now. We’ll support each other from now on.”

Tweek nestled his face into Craig’s chest, which made Craig’s face grow warm. Then he grew slightly nervous from what he was about to ask.

“Um, Tweek, I have a sort of selfish request of you,” he said. Tweek removed his face from Craig’s chest and looked up at him.

“What is it?” he asked. The slight nervousness the blond felt was clear in his voice.

Craig hesitated a moment before speaking, trying to figure out what he wanted to say. “It’s just, whenever I make a new friend, my parents never like them and do everything in their power to get rid of them,” he explained, “Because they just want me to be friends that they find acceptable, so I don’t embarrass them or whatever. But I really don’t want to lose you, so in order for this to work, we’re going to have to hide our friendship.”

Tweek cocked his head slightly, and Craig tried not to blush about how cute that looked. “What do you mean?” he wondered.

“I mean, I can’t really be seen hanging out with you,” Craig explained, “Like, I can’t sit with you at lunch, or talk to you at school. Trust me, I don’t want to do this, but it’s the only way we can still be friends.”

A moment of silence followed this before Tweek nodded. “O-Ok,” he said at last, “I trust you. I don’t want to have to lose my first real friend.”

Craig sighed with relief. “Thank you,” he murmured, “And don’t worry. Clyde can hang out with you if you want him to. He can make friends with anyone, so no one will question it if you hang out with him. And if you ever need help with anything, be sure to call him.”

“Is Clyde your only friend your parents like?” Tweek questioned.

“No,” Craig replied, “They don’t like Clyde either. When I was twelve they tried to force me stop being friends with him because they thought I spent too much time with him. But Clyde’s been my best friend since preschool, and I wasn’t about to give him up. So, Clyde and I ran away.”

Tweek’s eyes widened at that. “You did?” he asked in surprise.

“Yeah,” Craig said, “I had threatened to do it before, but my parents didn’t believe me. We made it all the way to Denver before my parents finally got in contact with me. I told them I would only come home if I could still be friends with Clyde.”

“Weren’t you two scared?” Tweek wondered, his eyes as round as plates.

Craig shrugged his shoulders. “A little at first,” he admitted, “But I knew we would be ok, because we were with each other. Clyde is someone who is so loyal, he will do anything for you, no matter what it is. Honestly, I feel blessed to have him in my life, when the rest of it is so miserable.”

There was a moment of silence. Then Tweek suddenly moved closer and pressed himself against Craig. “I hope I can be someone like that for you,” he murmured. Craig couldn’t help but smile at that.

“And I hope to be the same for you,” he admitted.

…

Craig walked Tweek home after that, showing him little tricks he and Clyde used to remember how to get to the treehouse, if he ever needed to get there and he was alone. After that, he walked back to his own house. As soon as he walked in the door, he was met with a slap across the face.

“Where have you been!?” his mother demanded as Craig’s eyes squeezed shut, and he held his face where he had been struck, “Do you know how worried we’ve been? Poor Red has called at least a dozen times wondering where you were!”

Trying not to snap back at her, Craig opened his eyes and did his best to remain calm. “I’m sorry mother,” he said coldly, “I was out with friends, and I must have forgotten to take my phone with me.” He wasn’t going to tell her that he purposely left his phone behind.

Mrs. Tucker glared down at him. “Well you’d better call Red back, and let her know you’re ok!” she growled, “You had the poor girl worried sick!”

Yeah, I’ll bet, Craig thought bitterly as he walked past his mother and went up to his room. As soon as he was up there, he went over to his bed and fell onto it. He wasn’t going to call Red. Knowing her, the bitch would probably just show up at his house unannounced anyway. Then she would want him to have sex with her, even though sleeping with her was one of the worst experiences in the world.

Sitting up, Craig snatched his phone off his bedside table, and sent a text to Clyde while ignoring the dozens of missed calls and unread texts.

Craig: Can you come over, please? I have a feeling Red is going to be here soon, and I really don’t want to have sex with her right now.

Clyde: I’ll be right there.

Thankfully, Clyde didn’t live far away, he only lived down the street, so he arrived in about two minutes. Craig was waiting by the door to let him in before his parents could. As soon as they made it to Craig’s room and they closed the door, Craig was kissing Clyde desperately, as if he hadn’t seen him just a few hours ago.

“What’s wrong, man?” Clyde asked when Craig pulled away. Craig only kissed him like that when he was upset.

“When I got home my mom hit me,” he muttered, keeping arms around Clyde, “Then she was going on about ‘poor Red,’ as if she likes that girl more than she likes me. I shouldn’t have been gone for so long, but I wanted to spend time with Tweek, and I needed to make sure he got home all right.”

“You’ll be ok, Craig,” Clyde murmured, running his fingers under his shorter friend’s hat and through his hair, “I’m here for you. Red knows she can’t do anything while I’m here.”

Craig nodded and gently rested his head on Clyde’s shoulder, enjoying the feeling of his fingers in his hair. After a moment, he looked up. “Um, would it be all right if we made out for a while?” he requested.

Clyde smiled warmly. “Sure, buddy,” he replied. He took Craig’s hand and led him over to the bed. Craig sat down and Clyde gently pushed him onto his back before climbing on top of him and laying down carefully on him.

Eagerly, Craig leaned up and kissed Clyde, who immediately started kissing back. As soon as they started kissing, Clyde opened his mouth, allowing Craig’s tongue entry. Craig ran his hands down Clyde’s back, while Clyde’s tongue danced with Craig’s. They were slow and methodical, there was no need to rush. They carefully explored each other’s mouths, as Clyde’s fingers went into Craig’s hair in a way he knew he liked. They made out like this for at least ten minutes before Mrs. Tucker called up to them.

“Craig! Your girlfriend is here!” she informed.

Groaning with annoyance, Craig gently pulled away from Clyde as his friend carefully climbed off him. He had just started feeling better, too.

The two boys had just finished adjusting themselves when Red barged in without knocking. Without even acknowledging Clyde, she strode over to Craig, cupped his face in her hands and kissed him fiercely. Craig had to stop himself from gagging.

“Oh Craig!” Red exclaimed in an obviously fake concerned voice, “I was so worried about you! You weren’t replying to any of my texts! I was afraid something terrible had happened to you!”

“It’s only like, one in the afternoon,” Craig muttered, “It’s not that concerning. I just forgot to charge my phone last night. You don’t have to know where I am every single moment of the day.”

Red put her hands on her hips and huffed. “But I wanted you to go to lunch with me and the girls!” she whined, “But I had to go alone because you never replied!”

Craig rolled his eyes. “Oh no, how horrible,” he said, putting absolutely no emotion into his words whatsoever, “You know I hate your friends anyway.”

“Now, now! Don’t be like that!” Red pouted. She sat on Craig’s lap, who immediately shoved her off. She gave Craig an angry look, who gave her one back.

“I have company, Red,” Craig pointed out the obvious. Red looked over and finally noticed Clyde sitting next to him. She glared at him.

“Clyde, get out of here!” she growled, “I want to have alone time with my boyfriend!”

Before Clyde could even open his mouth, Craig was in her face. “He was here first,” he hissed, “I invited him over. But you showed up unannounced! If anything, you should leave!”

Red’s face was almost as red as her hair. “I’m going to talk to my daddy about this!” she yelled, “You will not talk to me like that!” Without another word, she stormed out of the room, and out of the house.

Craig heard the front door slam, and instantly a horrible dread settled in him. He knew his parents had heard that, and it was only a matter of time before they came stomping up the stairs. Nervously, he gripped Clyde’s arm.

“We need to get out of here,” he muttered. Clyde nodded, and they both quickly ran out of the house before either of Craig’s parents could figure out what had happened.


	7. Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tweek gets some unexpected guests at the coffee shop.

When Tweek woke that weekend, he was full of dread. His parents made him work at the coffee shop on weekends, and that meant he had to deal with people, and that meant stress. Especially since he basically had to run the whole place by himself, since his parents took those two days off. They had a help wanted sign in the window, hoping to hire another person to help Tweek, but so far they didn’t like anyone who applied.

Shivering with nerves, Tweek got ready for his day, showering, and having a quick breakfast. He gave his parents the personality quiz thing for school before walking to the shop. He had always hated how early they had to open it. Sure, that’s when a lot of people were getting coffee before going to work, so they had to be open, but he still hated it.

After plugging in the coffee machines, Tweek went into the small back room to start preparing the coffee mixes. His parents used a special ingredient in all their coffee to “make it better,” but they never told Tweek what it was. He was just expected to mix it in and not ask questions. It bothered Tweek to no end.

Thankfully for Tweek, today seemed to be a slow morning. He definitely preferred those. Then he could just sit back and sip on his own coffee without having to worry about much.

Looking out over the empty shop, Tweek sighed and closed his eyes. He took a long, slow sip from his coffee and let out a soft sigh. He suddenly heard the bell over the door jingle and grunted. When he opened his eyes to see who had entered, he was quite surprised to see Craig standing there.

“C-Craig?” Tweek gasped, “What are you doing here?”

“Eh, I had nothing going on today, so I decided to see if you were working today,” Craig replied, “Do you run the shop by yourself?”

Tweek sighed. “Yeah. B-But only for two days. And my parents have been looking to hire someone to help me,” he explained.

Humming to himself in thought, Craig gently tapped his fingers on the counter. Then he looked at Tweek. “Hey, is it all right if I help you out for a while?” Tweek jumped a little.

“GAH! W-Why would y-you want to?” he wondered. Craig shrugged.

“I just want to spend some time with you,” he replied, “And I thought maybe I would apply to work here.”

For a moment, Tweek forgot how to breathe. Wait, Craig wanted to work here? With him? Why? Tweek shivered then swallowed. “Y-You w-want to -AGH!- work here?”

“Why not?” Craig said, “I could make my own money and I could show my parents I don’t need them. Plus, it would give me an excuse to see you without anyone growing suspicious.”

Tweek could feel his heart beating faster than before. “A-And maybe if I show y-you how things w-work t-today, you’ll have a b-better chance of m-my parents g-giving you the job,” he rationalized. Craig grinned at him.

“Exactly!” he agreed, “So, you want to show me how all this works?”

For the next hour or so, Tweek showed Craig how to use all the equipment and even how to make some of the drinks on the menu. He wasn’t exactly sure how his parents conducted their interviews, but in case they tried testing Craig, Tweek wanted him to be ready. And he had fun teaching Craig. The boy was a fast learner. When a customer occasionally came in, Tweek showed him how to deal with them. By the time closing time came, the two of them were giggling like school children.

“Will you come by tomorrow, too?” Tweek asked as he closed up the shop for the day. Craig grinned at him.

“Only if you want me to,” he replied.

Tweek blushed slightly. “Of course, I do,” he said in a small voice, “Um, would you mind walking home with me?”

“I wouldn’t mind at all,” Craig replied, looping his arm with Tweek’s. They were both silent as they walked towards home. Tweek kept close to Craig’s side, reveling in the warmth of his body. Tweek always felt cold, but walking beside Craig actually made him feel warm.

When they got to Tweek’s house, he turned to Craig. “Thanks for hanging out with me today,” he said, looking down shyly, “I-I would’ve been really bored on my own.”

Craig smiled and suddenly pulled Tweek in for a gentle hug. “It was no trouble,” he murmured into Tweek’s ear, “I’m looking forward to working with you.” Then he pulled away and took off towards his own home.

Tweek watched him go until he couldn’t see him anymore before going inside. His parents were sitting in the living room, his mother reading a book, while his father read the newspaper. Neither of them said anything to Tweek as he came in. He had to make a loud coughing sound to get their attention.

“Hey, son! How was the shop today?” his dad asked, not putting down his newspaper.

“It was a little slow,” Tweek confessed as he took a seat on the couch, “My friend came and kept me company when there was no one in the shop.”

This comment got his mom to look up from her book. “Oh! I didn’t know you had any friends!” she gleefully said. Tweek knew not to be too offended by her comment. He had never had any friends his entire life.

“Yeah, we’re working on a project together, and we became friends that way,” Tweek explained, “He said he was thinking of applying to work at the shop.”

“Oh, that would be wonderful, honey!” his mom exclaimed, “That would make me feel so much better about who we leave you with! Especially if it’s one of your friends! Wouldn’t you agree, honey?”

“Indeed,” Mr. Tweak replied, without looking away from the paper.

“Speaking of my project, did you two fill out the test yet?” Tweek wondered.

“We did,” Mrs. Tweak answered, holding out the papers for him. Tweek thanked her and took the papers from her and got up to put them away in his backpack. “So, what is this friend’s name?” she asked her son.

“His name is Craig,” Tweek told her, as he tried not to wrinkle the tests too badly. He suddenly heard his dad ruffle the newspaper.

“Is his last name Tucker, by any chance?” he asked casually.

Tweek stopped to think for a moment. “Yeah, I think it is,” he replied, “Why?”

“Oh, no reason,” Mr. Tweak said, trying to sound like it was just a random question. But Tweek could tell that something about that name rattled his dad. He didn’t know what, though, and he wasn’t going to press it.

“Well, if he’s your friend, I think we can consider him pretty much hired,” Mr. Tweak continued. Tweek stopped what he was doing and looked up in surprise.

“R-Really?” he asked excitedly. His parents never did anything nice for him! Could this really be happening?

“Yeah, sure!” Mr. Tweak replied, “I don’t really trust anyone else in this town anyway. At least this way one of knows this kid.”

Tweek felt so happy, he got up and ran over to hug his parents. “Thank you guys!” he exclaimed, “Thank you! I can’t wait to tell Craig!” With that, he ran upstairs to his room, eager to text Craig the good news.

…

When the next day rolled around, Tweek actually felt excited to open the shop. Before he left, his parents gave him a bunch of papers for Craig to fill out so they could officially hire him. If Tweek hadn’t been so excited to be working with his friend, he would’ve wondered why his parents were so quick to hire Craig without even meeting him.

Tweek was just unlocking the doors when he felt gentle arms wrap around him from behind. He jumped and yelped in surprise.

“Relax, Tweek, it’s only me,” Craig’s soft voice told him. Tweek instantly relaxed and turned to him.

“Hey Craig!” Tweek greeted, “I’m so excited that we get to work together!”

“Me too,” Craig admitted, “I didn’t expect your parents to hire me without even interviewing me first. That was nice of them.”

Tweek unlocked the door and led Craig inside. “By the way, my parents gave me these forms you have to fill out,” Tweek told his friend. Craig let out a loud groan.

“Aw! I don’t want to do paperwork!” Craig whined. Tweek couldn’t stop himself from chuckling at him.

“Sorry, Craig, but if you want to be paid, you have to do some paperwork,” he giggled.

Craig grumbled something under his breath and took the stack of papers to one of the tables to start filling it out. While he did, Tweek went about starting all the coffee makers. He knew it would probably be some time before anyone came in, as most people in South Park went to church on Sundays. So Tweek took the opportunity to start wiping down tables.

“This is super boring,” Craig mumbled as he turned to the next page.

“Nothing I can do about it,” Tweek chuckled as he worked.

A few minutes later, Tweek looked up in surprise when the bell above the door jingled. He relaxed when Clyde entered, though he was a little unsure of the five people with him. He knew they were Clyde’s friends, but he didn’t know much about them, or even really remember their names.

“Oh, hey Clyde,” Tweek greeted shyly, “What brings you here?”

“We were just passing by and saw that you were open so we decided to drop in,” Clyde explained. He gestured to his five friends. “These are my good friends that aren’t Craig: Token, Jimmy, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny.” Each of them raised their hand in greeting when Clyde said their name. Aside from Jimmy, who couldn’t because he had crutches.

Tweek was sure Clyde was about to say more, but he was interrupted by the appearance of Craig, who was suddenly pressed against him. Clyde gave his friend a baffled look.

“When did you get here?” he wondered. Craig smiled up at him.

“I’ve been here the whole time,” he explained, “I’m gonna start working here.”

“Really?” Kyle asked him, surprised, “Why? Do you really need the extra money?”

“Maybe it’s not about the money, Broflovski,” Craig grumbled, “Maybe I just want to earn money for myself for once, did you consider that?”

“Can I get anything for anyone?” Tweek interjected before an argument could break out. Even if he wasn’t part of it, Tweek always hated fighting. It made him nervous and uncomfortable.

“Oh boy! I wa… I wa… I want a coffee!” Jimmy exclaimed, hobbling over to the counter. The others lined up behind him as Tweek went to the register.

After everyone had ordered, Tweek started showing Craig how to make their drinks. Everyone had ordered something different and unusual, except for Token, who ordered a plain black coffee. Token was promptly berated by Clyde for it.

“Hey,” Token spoke up once everyone had gotten their drinks, “I thought as my friends you guys should know that I’m having a party in two weeks at my house to celebrate the fact that I have nothing to celebrate.”

“Sounds like a great reason to party,” Kenny acknowledged, raising his coffee cup.

“Token lives in a mansion,” Craig murmured to Tweek as the others agreed with Kenny, “His family is rich, so Token likes to throw a lot of parties, and invites pretty much everyone.”

“I’ve never been to a party,” Tweek admitted quietly, “I-I don’t know if I’d want to go to one, though. They don’t really sound like much fun.”

“They aren’t,” Craig sighed, “But I always have to go to any party because Red always drags me along. Whether I want to go or not. But Token’s parties usually aren’t that bad.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Tweek muttered. He felt Craig lightly press against him.

“If Red makes me go, I would want you to be there,” he told him, “Clyde always goes to any party I get dragged to as well, so you wouldn’t be alone.”

Tweek smiled lightly at him. “I’ll think about it,” he promised.

“Hey Tweek!” Stan suddenly called to the blond, making him jump a little, “You should come sit with us at lunch tomorrow!”

“Yeah, we don’t mind opening an extra space for you,” Kyle said. Tweek stared in surprise.

“R-Really?” he asked, “You want me to sit with you guys?”

“Why not?” Clyde questioned, “You always sit alone at lunch, and I at least think that’s a crime. You don’t have to worry about these guys. They don’t bite.”

“E-E-Except maybe K-Kenny,” Jimmy joked.

“Hey!” Kenny snapped at him as Stan and Kyle chuckled.

Tweek felt his heart racing. He looked at Craig, who gave him a reassuring smile. Then Tweek turned back to the others. “Um, ok,” he answered. As the group cheered, Tweek felt a rare smile sneak onto his face. Maybe life was finally starting to get better for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to come out, I’ve been working a lot on my other stories, and I didn’t realize how far behind this one got. I’ll try to have the next chapter out sooner, but I make no promises. I’m currently working on somewhere between 9 to 11 stories. I know. I’m insane.


	8. Attraction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tweek spends time with his new group of friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t really have much planned for this chapter. I guess Tweek will get to know the others a bit better. And I think I’m going to switch to Craig’s perspective at some point. Also, I want to start setting something up that’s going to happen at the party. Ooh! Also, if anyone wants to draw fan art of this or any of my other stories, I wouldn’t say no!

Tweek was actually a bit excited for lunch the next day. For once he would actually have someone to sit with. Unfortunately, Craig had informed him he wouldn’t be able to sit with them, as Red always made him sit with her and her friends. Clyde as well usually sat with Craig, but Craig told him to sit with Tweek and the others for now, at least until Tweek got used to being around them. In Craig’s opinion Clyde’s group of friends was an acquired taste.

When he came into the lunchroom, Tweek saw Clyde and the others waving to him from their table. Smiling lightly, Tweek walked over and took a free seat in between Clyde and Token. When he sat down, Clyde gave him a hearty pat on the back.

“All right! The gang’s all here now!” he laughed, “Glad to be the one to officially welcome you to the table, bud!”

“Why do you always get to be the first person to welcome people to the table?” Kenny wondered with a huff.

“Because people love me,” Clyde told him. Kenny stared back at him.

“Yeah, that’s true,” he sighed.

Tweek chuckled a little at their comments. He was glad the group was welcoming him, he didn’t know what he would’ve done if they had been awkward or something. They were already laughing and joking with him, as if he was one of the group all along.

“Hey T-T-Tweek!” Jimmy called from across the table, “Since y-you work i-i-in a c-coffee shop, d’you get free cof-coffee?” Tweek smirked a little.

“I wish,” he replied, “My parents are kind of stingy, so they try to cut costs whenever they can. But I sneak a few for myself when I work, since they don’t ever notice.”

“Nice,” Kenny smirked, “I wish I had a job where I could sneak free products. Or a job.”

“Well, maybe if you actually applied yourself you could get one,” Kyle pointed out.

“Sounds hard,” Kenny complained, yawning, “Guess I’ll be a jobless bum and mooch off of Token for the rest of my life.”

“To hell you are,” Token muttered.

As the group started discussing Token’s party, Tweek suddenly felt like someone was staring at him for some reason. Trying to be as discreet as possible, Tweek slowly scanned the cafeteria, trying to see if anyone was staring at him. He looked over to where Craig was sitting with the girls and saw that he was desperately trying not to fall asleep as Red rambled on and on to him. The other girls looked totally engaged in her story.

Looking around more, Tweek suddenly saw who was staring at him. It was a black-haired boy with long hair swept to the side and red tips. By the black make up, black clothes, and the fact that three other kids were sitting with him dressed in much the same way, it was easy to tell that he was a goth. As Tweek stared, the goth locked eyes with him, and then looked away after a brief moment, leaving Tweek confused. Who was he? Why had he been staring at him?

“Hey Tweek, you all right?” Stan asked him, snapping him out of his daze.

Tweek whipped his head back to the table and saw the group staring at him, and Clyde had a concerned look on his face. Tweek tried his best to smile reassuringly.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he told them, “I just wanted to see what the cafeteria looked like from a different angle, since I’ve never sat anywhere else before.”

The others started chuckling, and Tweek could only mentally sigh in relief that none of them seemed to notice his discomfort. He didn’t want any of them to worry about him. He didn’t notice that Clyde had noticed, though, and was wearing a look of concern.

He kept a close eye on Tweek for the rest of the school day.

…

The room was hot and humid, and the only light were the weak little rays that managed to penetrate the closed curtains. Craig and Clyde panted heavily as Clyde rhythmically thrusted in and out of Craig, the power in those thrusts restrained so he wouldn’t hurt his friend. Craig moaned and threw his arms around Clyde as the latter started kissing his neck, careful not to leave any marks.

“Clyde,” Craig breathed, “My heart is racing! This is-!” He cut himself off with a gasp as Clyde suddenly thrusted deeper, hitting Craig’s prostate, and sending a wave of pleasure through him. Clyde grinned and tightened his hold around Craig.

He could make Craig cum right now if he wanted to. Clyde had more than enough experience under his belt to know how to drive his friend crazy with lust and pleasure. But he also knew that Craig didn’t like having quick sex. Sex that only lasted a minute or two and then it was over, barely leaving any impact.

Panting, Craig leaned up, kissing Clyde on the mouth, which Clyde returned with eagerness. They worked their tongues against each other, fighting for dominance. Craig pulled away after a minute to catch his breath.

“Clyde!” he groaned, “I-I’m getting close!”

“Me too,” Clyde admitted, panting, “Argh! You feel amazing, man! Oh God! I-I’m gonna-!” He was cut off when his orgasm hit, and he started releasing inside of Craig. He cried out his name, and that’s when Craig hit his own climax. They both moaned with pleasure, and Clyde tipped his head back, letting the pleasure of his orgasm wash over him. He thrusted a few more times to ride it out before they both finally finished, and Clyde collapsed on top of Craig.

They both lay there, panting and trying to get their breaths back. Clyde carefully pulled out of Craig and took off the condom he had been wearing. He tied it up and tossed it in the trash, then he took the tissue box off his nightstand and offered it to Craig to clean himself.

“That was amazing, dude,” Craig sighed when he was done, “You always know how to bring me the most pleasure.”

“It’s what I do, baby,” Clyde joked as he laid down next to him. He wrapped his arms around Craig, who immediately snuggled up to him and pressed his face into his neck. Clyde let out a soft chuckle.

“Rough day?” he asked.

“You have no idea,” Craig muttered, “Red just wouldn’t shut up all day, and her girlfriends kept putting their hands all over me. It made it very hard to concentrate during my classes. The only time I got any relief was in psych class.”

“Oh yeah, that’s the one you partnered with Tweek in, right?” Craig nodded into Clyde’s neck. “How’s that class going?”

“It’s definitely my favorite class,” Craig replied, “I get to be with Tweek, and no one has to be suspicious when I talk to him since he’s my partner. What about you? How was your day?”

“All right, I suppose,” Clyde answered earnestly, “Same as any other day. Though there was something at lunch.”

“What is it?” Craig wondered.

“I saw Pete staring at Tweek.” Immediately, Clyde felt Craig’s body stiffen. It was no secret why, either; Clyde knew that Craig and Pete hated each other. Pete didn’t like how popular Craig was and how he rejected him when Pete offered to let him hang with the goths, and Craig didn’t like how phony Pete and his friends were.

Craig never liked anyone who were, as Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye put it, “phony.” And in Craig’s opinion, Pete and the goths were some of the biggest phonies at the school. They claimed to be tortured souls, who had terrible lives, and had never been given any love, but Craig knew that wasn’t true. All four of them had pretty decent lives with loving parents, and Craig felt they were just putting on an act to get attention. It didn’t help for Craig that they fit pretty much every goth stereotype there was: underage smoking, dark poetry that they thought was deep, piercings everywhere, black clothes and make up. They claimed to be non-conformists, but they were some of the biggest conformists.

But all of that wouldn’t have mattered if it weren’t for what Pete did. Right before his father forced him to start dating Red, Pete had been heavily attracted to Craig, and regularly tried to hit on him. At first Craig was receptive, until Pete kept trying to change everything about him. When Pete kissed him, Craig rejected him.

After that, Pete tried his best to get back at Craig. When Craig befriended a girl named Henrietta, Pete stole her from him. And Craig had a sneaking suspicion that the reason Red or his parents usually found out his friends was because Pete told them.

But if Pete thought he could steal Tweek from him, he had another thing coming.

“Damn it,” Craig hissed under his breath, “Pete better not do anything to Tweek if he knows what’s good for him.”

“Don’t worry, Craig,” Clyde murmured to him, “I’ll be sure to keep an eye on Tweek and make sure Pete and his friends don’t try to approach him.”

“Thank you, Clyde,” Craig said with a sigh.

…

Tweek waited anxiously for Craig in the tree house, fidgeting nervously. He had decided to bring a few things from home to add to the tree house, and he hoped Craig liked them. He had brought an old advertisement for Tweak Bros coffee from when his father’s father first opened the store and pinned it up on the wall. He also had a few of his Lego creations (building things out of Legos was one of the few things that helped Tweek focus and calm down.) They included a huge coffee mug, a bunny, and one built to look like the Empire State building.

He had texted Craig a few minutes ago telling him he wanted to hang out with him at the tree house, and now Tweek was just nervously waiting for him. He yelped a little when the hatch suddenly opened, and Craig climbed up.

“Oh, hey Tweek!” Craig greeted as he entered, “I didn’t think you would already be here. So, you managed to find your way all right?”

“Yeah,” Tweek replied, nodding nervously, “Um, I p-put up a few decorations.”

Blinking, Craig looked around and saw the advertisement and Lego creations. His face broke into a small grin. “Wow! I like them! Did you make those Legos yourself?”

Tweek blushed a little, relieved that Craig approved of his choices. “Yeah, I like to build things, and using Legos is one of the few things that can keep me calm,” he explained. Craig smiled gently before looking at the advertisement.

“This looks really old,” he commented, “Who’s this man in the picture?”

“My grandpa,” Tweek told him, “He’s the original founder of Tweak Bros, and I like to look at it every once in a while. It reminds me of where I came from, and it’s one of the only pictures I have of my grandpa.”

“Did you ever meet him?” Craig wondered. Tweek shook his head.

“Nah, he died before I was born,” he said. Craig looked at the picture again.

“He looks a little like you,” he commented, “He has that wild hair, and thin frame. Maybe your grandpa was you in a past life.” Tweek chuckled.

“Yeah, sure Craig,” he laughed.

Grinning, Craig walked over and sat down next to Tweek on the mattress. “So, how was sitting with Clyde and the others?” he asked. Tweek smiled.

“It was great,” he replied, “They really went out of their way to make me feel welcomed. They’re good people.”

“Heh, yeah, they’re some of the very few people I can actually tolerate,” Craig said, “And they were the only ones of Clyde’s friends who don’t hate me because I’m not like them.”

Tweek fidgeted a little at his words. “But you get along with them, right?” he asked. He didn’t know what he would do if his new group of friends didn’t get along with Craig.

“Oh yeah,” he replied, “We get along well enough. They know about my situation, so they don’t bother me too much. They don’t really mind if I just sit there quietly and don’t talk to any of them.”

Tweek nodded and settled onto the mattress. “That’s good,” he murmured.

Neither of them brought up Pete, and Craig hoped he would never have to.


	9. Closer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tweek and Craig grow closer and closer. Meanwhile, someone has his eye on Tweek...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glad I threw you guys for a loop! Don’t worry, Craig and Clyde will be explained eventually, but it will be a while. I have something planned for the reveal of what’s going on with them. Anyway, again, I don’t have many ideas for this chapter. I want to get more interaction between Craig and Tweek at least. And maybe more of Pete being sinister.
> 
> (Sorry this and my other stories have taken so long to update. I’ve been really feeling my depression lately, and it’s hard for me to get motivated to write when I’m like this. I start to feel like all my work is crap when I get like that. I’ll try to have chapters up sooner.)

“Hey Clyde?” Ten-year-old Craig said to his friend as they sat together under a tree. Clyde, who had been starting to drift off, suddenly snapped to attention and looked at him.

“Yeah buddy?” he asked.

“Do you ever get this weird feeling in your chest?” Craig wondered, “A feeling that you can’t explain? And it only happens when you think about a certain person or when you’re around them?”

Clyde tilted his head to think for a moment. “I don’t think so,” he replied, “Why, do you?” Craig looked down and fidgeted with his hands.

“Sometimes,” he muttered, “I don’t really know what it is, though. I keep thinking it’ll go away, but it never does. Sometimes it really hurts, and I don’t know why.”

Frowning, Clyde inched closer to Craig and wrapped his arms around him. Craig tried hard to keep his breathing level, but it was a little hard.

“Have you talked to anyone about it?” Clyde questioned, “Maybe it’s a bug.” Ten-year-old Clyde wasn’t very smart. Craig shook his head.

“No,” Craig said, answering the first question, “I’m kind of worried about what my dad will think. You know how strict he is. And my mom would probably lock me in my room.”

“Harsh,” Clyde muttered, “So, if you only get this way around a certain person, who is that person?”

Craig’s face started turning red and he turned away. Clyde rubbed the back of his head. “Oh, someone close, huh?” he said in a low voice, “Sorry, I won’t ask again.”

“Thanks,” Craig muttered, refusing to look at him. He didn’t want Clyde to know the truth. At least, not right now.

…

When Tweek woke up in the morning, his heart started racing when he saw Craig asleep next to him. Every time he saw Craig he felt like his chest was going to burst. He held his breath, not wanting to wake Craig. He carefully sat up and pulled the blanket off of himself, while keeping it on Craig.

Standing up, Tweek pulled out his phone to make sure his parents hadn’t called. Predictably, they didn’t. He sighed and was about to put his phone away, but then he noticed he had a text message. Which was surprising because no one ever texted him. He opened it up and saw that it was from Clyde.

CLYDE: Hey, do you want to hang out with Craig and me today?

Immediately Tweek texted back, hoping he didn’t seem too desperate.

TWEEK: Of course! When are we meeting up?

He sent the text and set his phone down on the desk and went back to sit with Craig and wait for Clyde’s reply. Craig hadn’t stirred yet, so Tweek sat next to him and quietly watched him. He didn’t want to seem creepy, but Craig looked so peaceful in his sleep. Even though he was relatively cheerful to Tweek, he could hear the stress in Craig’s voice when he complained about something. And Tweek knew he could relate.

He was still staring when Craig groaned and started to wake. Tweek quickly looked away, trying to make it seem like he hadn’t been staring at him. He heard Craig yawn and sit up. Tweek turned back around and saw Craig look at him.

“Morning,” he greeted in a sleepy voice, “I’m surprised you’re up before me.”

Tweek blushed a little. “Yeah, I usually have trouble sleeping, so I’m usually up before everyone else,” he said. Craig smiled a little.

“You seemed to sleep peacefully the other day when I was staring at you,” he teased gently. Tweek felt his eye twitch.

“Y-You… were watching me?” Tweek asked nervously.

“Well, maybe a little,” Craig confessed, “Sorry. I couldn’t help myself. You just looked so peaceful and calm in your sleep, I couldn’t help but stare.”

Feeling his cheeks heat up, Tweek looked down at the ground. He heard Craig chuckle and started a little when he felt Craig wrap his arms around him.

“You don’t have to be embarrassed around me,” he assured the jittery blond, “I don’t judge too harshly.”

Tweek was about to say something, but there was a sudden buzzing sound and he let out a frightened “AH!” Struggling to turn around in Craig’s arms, he saw it was just his phone on the desk that was making the noise. He let out a sigh.

“Um, I need to get my phone,” he murmured to Craig. The taller boy released him and Tweek quickly scrambled over to his phone. He had a text from Clyde.

CLYDE: How about after school?

Tweek immediately started panicking when he read Clyde’s text. Oh God! He forgot about school! They were going to be late!

“AH! We’re going to be late!” he exclaimed, “Our teachers are going to be mad! And then we’ll get detention! And then our parents will ground us! And-!”

He was cut off when Craig pressed a hand to his mouth. “Tweek, calm down,” he said, “We still have time. That’s why we have our backpacks here, remember? The school isn’t that far away from here. We can make it.”

Tweek slowly calmed himself. Craig was right. They had plenty of time to get to school, especially if they left now. He blushed a little.

“Sorry,” he murmured, “You’re right. We can still make it.”

Craig smiled softly at him. “There you go,” he said, “Come on. We should get ready. Otherwise we’ll actually be late.”

…

Tweek couldn’t help but feel nervous in his math class as he tried to solve the equations his teacher put up on the board. It felt like someone was staring at him, but he was too scared to try to see if that was true. He didn’t want the teacher to catch him and think he was trying to cheat or something. Using his peripherals, he glanced around without moving his head, and he noticed the goth from yesterday staring right at him. Swallowing nervously, Tweek tried to turn his focus back on his work but was having trouble at it.

What was his deal? Why was he staring at him like that? It was making Tweek so nervous that the numbers on his paper were starting to jumble together. How much longer was this class? He needed to get out of here!

Just as he was praying for it, the bell rang, dismissing the class. Tweek let out a sigh of relief and started putting his stuff away. When he looked up again, though, the goth was standing right in front of his desk. He squeaked in fear.

“Um, c-can I help you?” he asked.

“I’ve been watching you,” the goth told him, “You seem like a pretty interesting kid. Unlike most of the conformists at this school.” He flipped his hair as he spoke.

“Oh, um, thanks?” Tweek replied, unsure of whether or not to take his words as a compliment or not.

“My mortal name is Pete,” the goth continued, “You don’t have to right now, but you should come hang with my friends and me some time. Think about it.” With that, Pete slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked out of the classroom.

Tweek stared after him in slight confusion. Was Pete… interested in him? If so, he would be the second guy in under a month that actually wanted to be around him. Tweek felt his face flush, but with what, he didn’t know.

…

Red was out sick today, so Craig actually got to sit with his friends at lunch, as the other girls held no power over him. He sat in between Clyde and Tweek, which made Tweek quite excited. It was nice that he didn’t have to see Craig so restrained. He actually joked around with Clyde’s friends, instead of looking bored and uninterested.

“I d-don’t know, C-C-Craig,” Jimmy was saying, “If you g-go to Token’s pah… Token’s pah… Token’s party, you might s-suck the life out of e-everyone th-there.”

Craig grinned at him. “That’s the goal,” he told him, “Red of course is going to make me go. And if I’m not having a good time then no one else can. It’s my super power.”

Stan chuckled. “Well, most vampires don’t call it a super power, but if you want to call it that, I guess we can’t stop you,” he teased.

“Damn straight,” Craig joked.

Tweek chuckled a little as the others laughed. He could get used to this.

“By the way, Craig, I filled out that personality test like you wanted,” Kyle said, reaching into his bag, and pulling out the packet. He handed it to Craig.

“Finally,” Craig muttered to himself.

“Oh yeah, you wanted us to do those,” Kenny said, mostly to himself.

“You gotta get those done soon, guys,” Craig pointed out, “Tweek and I can’t continue our project until we have at least ten packets filled out.”

“I finished mine,” Stan replied. He also dug into his bag, but because it was a total mess, it took him much longer to find the packet. Finally, he pulled it out, showing how folded and wrinkled it was. “Here you go.”

“Gee, thanks, Stan,” Craig said sarcastically, “I’m glad to know you took this seriously.”

“You’re welcome,” Stan replied, not getting it.

Tweek was excited for psych class. It was one of the only classes he had with Craig that didn’t also have Red. And just like Craig, he was glad that no one was allowed to question why they were talking to each other since they were project partners.

“Ok, with your parents, my parents, Clyde, Stan, and Kyle we have seven tests completed now,” Craig said when class started, and they were allowed to work, “With Token, Jimmy, and Kenny then we’ll have ten.”

“Yay!” Tweek exclaimed, clapping his hands together excitedly, “This was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be!”

“I know, right?” Craig grinned. “I was afraid I was actually going to have to ask Red for help. So glad I don’t have to.”

Tweek giggled lightly. Since they couldn’t really work on their project until they had the other three tests, the two of them talked quietly in the back of the room for the entire class. The more he learned about Craig, the more Tweek was sure he was falling in love with him.

Craig owned two guinea pigs named Stripe and Smittywerbenyegermanjenson (or Smitty for short.) In addition to space, he was also passionate about filmmaking.

“You know how almost everyone has some ridiculous dream that would be nearly impossible to achieve but they still dream it anyway?” Craig asked. Tweek nodded in understanding. “Well my dream is to one day make a movie in outer space. Like, an actual movie with a plot and everything.”

“That would be amazing!” Tweek gasped, “And Clyde could be the alien!”

Craig chuckled softly. “I bet he would love that,” he laughed, “And you would be my adorable star.” Tweek found himself blushing at that.

Tweek told Craig about how he liked making and building things, usually out of Legos, but other things as well. “I once made a giant coffee cup sculpture for my parents’ shop,” he explained, “My parents really liked it. It drew a lot of people in.” He let out a deep sigh. “It was one of the only times they really paid attention to me.”

Craig frowned and patted him on the shoulder. “Your parents don’t appreciate what they really have,” he said, “You’re an amazing person who can do so many things. They just don’t see it.” Tweek gave him a warm smile.

“Thanks Craig,” he murmured, “I really appreciate it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m going to end this chapter here. Again, sorry it took so long to get out. I don’t know when the next chapter will be out.


	10. Goths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the weekend approaches, Tweek spends more time with Craig and Clyde. Then while he and Craig are working at the coffee shop, they get some unexpected visitors!

Clyde was waiting for Tweek and Craig when school ended, and Tweek had almost forgotten that he had agreed to hang out with them today. Not that it mattered, of course. He had nothing going on. Clyde smiled as the two approached.

“Hey guys,” he said, “How was Psych class?”

“Eh,” Craig replied with a shrug, “We couldn’t really work on our project since we don’t have all the tests back yet. So, Tweek and I just talked and got to know each other better.” He gave Tweek a gentle nudge, and Tweek smiled in response.

“Um, how was your day?” Tweek decided to ask.

“It was pretty good,” Clyde answered, “Pretty standard. Thankfully I have at least one friend in all of my classes, so I never have to worry about being alone.”

“Yeah, yeah, stop bragging about how lovable you are,” Craig teased, lightly pushing him. Clyde smiled at him and gently nudged him back.

“So, where do you guys want to go?” Clyde asked as they started walking away from the school, “You hungry? It’ll be my treat.”

“I could eat,” Tweek replied, “Um, my parents never pack much for my lunch.”

“Really? What do they give you to eat?” Craig wondered. Tweek cast his gaze to the ground and shuffled his feet.

“Usually just a sandwich and a carton of milk if they remember,” he mumbled, “They get up early to open the shop, so they don’t have a lot of time to make me lunch. And, erg, I would do it myself, but I usually just end up making a big mess.”

“Well, I’m going to start bringing extras so you can actually eat,” Craig decided.

Tweek looked at him with wide eyes. “You don’t have to do that!” he insisted.

“No, it’s ok. I want to,” Craig told him. He put an arm around Tweek’s shoulders. “We can’t have you keeling over and starving or anything! Then I would have to find a new adorable friend!”

Blushing furiously, Tweek tried to hide his face by glancing away. It was then that he spotted Pete and three other people across the street, smoking under a tree. Pete locked eyes with him and gave him a little half nod. Tweek smiled sheepishly and gave him a small wave in return. Pete smirked then went back to talking to the others.

Tweek turned back to see Craig and Clyde staring at him. He suddenly grew nervous and cleared his throat. “What?” he asked.

“Who were you looking at?” Craig wondered.

“Oh, Pete was over there,” Tweek explained, relaxing, “He’s in my math class and he offered to hang out some time!” Tweek didn’t notice Craig tense up at the sound of Pete’s name.

“That’s cool that you’re starting to make more friends,” Clyde said quickly to hide Craig’s hesitation, “Just don’t make so many that you forget about us!”

Tweek giggled at his comment. “Don’t worry!” he assured him, “I won’t.”

As Clyde and Tweek walked ahead, Craig paused a moment to turn and glare at Pete, who returned the glare with equal venom. Then he quickly ran to catch up to his friends.

…

They decided to eat at a local burger joint that was fairly popular with the high schoolers. Their burgers ranged from tiny sliders to huge enormous burgers with everything on it. Tweek had never eaten here, though, as it was considered a place to hang out with friends, and he had never had friends before.

After they ordered, the found a sequestered booth and sat down, with Craig sitting next to Tweek and Clyde sitting across from them. Craig sighed and leaned back in his seat.

“I can’t wait for this weekend,” he admitted, “Only one more day.”

“Why’s that?” Clyde wondered.

“Because then I get to work with this one again,” Craig said, grinning. He slung an arm around the blushing Tweek and pressed him closer.

“It’s not that great,” Tweek murmured, a little embarrassed. Craig let out a little laugh.

“Nah, you’re fun to be around!” he insisted, “And I like working for my money. You should try it sometime, Clyde!”

Clyde chuckled slightly. “I would, but I’m already busy enough with football and taking care of my dad,” he replied, “Besides, I have no work ethic.”

“What’s wrong with your dad?” Tweek wondered, but quickly added, “If you don’t mind sharing, that is.”

“It’s fine. My dad is starting to get up there in age, and ever since mom died his health has been on the decline,” Clyde explained, “I feel bad for him, because I know how lonely he is. But he’s such a wonderful guy. He always supports me and Craig, and any of our friends. He’s always willing to cover for Craig when he’s hiding out at my house.”

Tweek nodded in understanding. He wondered what it was like to have a parent who supported you. Most of the time his parents barely knew he existed. They always cared more about their coffee shop than him, and he knew he could never tell them he was gay. It would hurt their business.

…

Much like Craig, Tweek had been anxiously looking forward to the weekend. He was excited to work with Craig, and he wouldn’t have to be alone anymore. And Craig was a fast learner as well, learning nearly all the recipes and how to work the coffee makers in just a day. But not only was Craig good company to have, he relieved a lot of the stress Tweek had when he worked alone.

Saturday was an average day, not too busy, and not too slow. They were busy enough to have plenty to do, but with enough slag in between to take a break and take it easy.

Around late afternoon, Tweek and Craig were talking quietly, sharing secrets and stories as there was no one currently in the store. Suddenly, the little bell over the door jingled as a customer walked in. The two turned to the door and Tweek felt Craig immediately stiffen. And Tweek could see why.

Red had just walked in with her girlfriends, Bebe, Annie, Esther, and Nelly. They were all laughing and giggling like valley girls or something. Tweek tried to make himself smaller as Craig tried to smooth his face into his normal neutral face. The girls stopped at the register and that’s when Red finally noticed them.

“Whoa! Craig, babe, what are you doing here?” she asked, clearly surprised.

“I work here,” he replied simply. Red frowned a little.

“So, this is why you blew me off today,” she scoffed. Then she noticed Tweek, who shrank back a little. “And you’re working with the spaz, no less?!”

“Well, this is his parents’ coffee shop,” Craig explained, “And we only work here on weekends anyway.”

“Why do you need to work anyway?” Bebe asked, flipping her hair, “Your parents already have plenty of money.” Craig glared at her.

“Not that it’s any of your business, Bebe,” he hissed, “But unlike some people, I actually like to earn my money instead of having everything given to me. Not that you would understand.” It was well known that Bebe’s parents worked for the business that Craig and Red’s fathers had started together. And anyone who worked for them were quite spoiled, even though they did practically no work.

Bebe scowled at him and was about to say something, but Red put up her hand to silence her. Then she looked at Craig. “You’re going to have to make this up to me by taking me to Token’s party,” she informed him, “I don’t care if you’re working or whatever, I am not missing out on this party.”

Craig repressed the urge to roll his eyes and sigh. “Yeah, ok,” he said, “Wouldn’t want you showing up without a date, after all.”

“Exactly,” Red huffed.

“Like, can we order something to drink, already?” Annie asked in an annoyed voice, “I’m like, so thirsty!”

“Order whatever you like, girls!” Red announced, “It’s on the house today.” She casted a side look at Craig, as if daring him to object. He silently glared at her.

Tweek wanted to say something. He wanted to tell her that she couldn’t decide just not to pay. His parents needed the money. Owning an independent coffee shop didn’t really make the big bucks, and his family needed every penny they could get. But he was too afraid to stand up to her. He knew she would just start making fun of him. So instead, he stayed silent and went to make their orders. He was glad that they left as soon as they got their drinks.

As soon as they left, Craig turned to him. “Sorry about that,” he said, “I know she can be horrible. Don’t worry, I’ll pay for their drinks.”

Tweek gave him a startled look. “You don’t have to do that!” he exclaimed. Craig shook his head.

“No, it’s ok. I want to,” he told him, “It’s not like I’m saving up for anything special. And I always hate when Red, or any rich person for that matter, thinks they can just get away with not having to pay for anything. It really hurts small businesses.”

Smiling gratefully, Tweek relaxed a little. “Thanks, Craig,” he said, “It really does help. I may resent my parents for favoring their shop over me, but we really do need the money.”

Craig gently returned the smile. “Just looking out for a friend,” he said.

…

The next day was about as busy as the previous day. Clyde and his group of friends came in and hung out for a while, which Tweek was grateful for. He really liked Clyde’s friends, and he got the feeling that Stan and the others were genuinely interested in him. They asked him what working in a coffee shop was like, and at one point Kenny tried to get the secret recipe from him. Tweek only managed to silence him by admitting he didn’t know himself.

After that, things were fairly busy. Customers came in at a steady pace, keeping Tweek and Craig busy all day. It wasn’t until evening when things finally slowed down enough for them to take a break. While Craig was in the back room doing inventory, Tweek was up front when Pete and his goth friends suddenly came in. Tweek was a bit surprised to see them.

“Pete! Hey!” Tweek greeted, “What are you doing here?”

“Heard that this was your parents’ joint,” he explained casually with a slight roll of his shoulders, “Figured we’d come and hang out for a bit.”

He gestured to the three goths beside him. “These are my friends,” he explained, “This is Michael, Henrietta, and Firkle. Or at least those are their false mortal names.”

Tweek didn’t really get what he meant by that, but he gave them each a small friendly wave anyway. They each nodded in acknowledgement.

“So, you work here, huh?” Pete asked, giving the store the once-over.

“Only on weekends,” Tweek told him, “At least until I graduate. Then my parents will probably make me work here full-time, even if I really don’t want to.”

“That’s lame,” Henrietta commented, “You should be allowed to do whatever you want. You’re not a kid anymore. Fight the oppressors.”

“Yeah,” Firkle, who only looked to be around twelve or thirteen, agreed, “Fuck those guys! You should live your life your own way!”

Tweek smiled a little. No one had ever really told him that he should be allowed to make his own life decisions before. Maybe he should stand up to his parents more.

“Hey, can I see your phone for a moment?” Pete asked suddenly, breaking Tweek from his thoughts. He quickly dug into his pocket and handed his phone to the goth. “I don’t normally like having conformist devices like this, but unfortunately it’s necessary to have one in today’s God-awful world,” Pete muttered as he put his number into Tweek’s phone. He handed it back to him. “There, my number’s in there now, so you can call me at any time.”

“Thanks, Pete,” Tweek replied, smiling gently. That was now three numbers in his phone that wasn’t his parents.

Pete nodded before speaking again. “You should come hang at our table tomorrow for lunch,” he proposed, “We would enjoy having you with us.”

Tweek tried not to blush as he took their orders. He didn’t mind making all four of them since Craig was still in the back. He handed their drinks to them, and Pete was the first one to take a sip. Then he smiled slightly.

“Not bad, Tweek,” he told him, “I’ll definitely be coming here more often.” The four paid for their drinks and started to leave, with Tweek feeling rather proud of himself. He noticed though, that as they passed the outside window, Pete looked back into the store and seemed to stare at something past Tweek.

Concerned, Tweek spun around and saw Craig standing there. He appeared to have been watching the goths, but his gaze quickly turned back to Tweek.

“I finished taking inventory,” he announced, “There are exactly four hundred twenty-three bags of coffee back there, along with sixty-two cartons of cream and ten bags of sugar. I don’t know why there is so little sugar.”

Unable to help himself, Tweek smiled and giggled lightly. “Thank you, Craig,” he said.

“You’re welcome. Those bags are heavy,” Craig informed him, “Oh, and I also found a half-eaten donut back there. I don’t know whose it was, so I ate it.” Tweek’s smile and laughter grew wider and louder.

“You’re so weird!” he gasped.

…

The only sound that could be heard from Michael’s room that night was the sound of heavy panting and the slapping of skin on skin as Pete desperately thrusted into his older friend. Michael held onto Pete’s hips as the other goth pounded into him as hard and as fast as he could.

“Argh! Michael!” Pete moaned, “I’m not gonna last much longer!”

“You’re going to have to hold on Pete,” Michael growled at him, “If you want to go all night with him, you’re going to have last a lot longer!”

Pete didn’t reply as he suddenly cried out, his climax hitting him, and he started coming inside Michael. The older goth tipped back his head and hummed with content at the feeling of Pete filling him. With a shudder, Pete collapsed on him, panting hard.

“Fuck,” he breathed, “I’m going to have to practice a lot more if I want to last all night.”

Michael smirked. “Yeah, the way you are now, you’d barely last an hour with him.” Pete rolled his eyes as Michael continued. “Anyway, how about we take this to the shower? I imagine you’ll want to have shower sex with him as well.”

A sinister smile came to Pete’s face. “You read my mind,” he said.


	11. Downwards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tweek hangs out with Pete and the goths for the day.

Tweek was feeling a little nervous as he entered school on Monday. He was worried that Red would suspect something about him and Craig from Saturday. Hopefully Red wouldn’t torment Craig about not telling her he had gotten a job.

As Tweek approached the school, he suddenly saw Pete and the other goths coming towards him. He stopped to let them catch up.

“Hey Tweek,” Pete greeted, slinging an arm around him, “We were thinking of just ditching school today and hanging out around town.”

“You want to come with us?” Michael asked.

Tweek shivered slightly. “I don’t know, guys,” he murmured, “Couldn’t we get in trouble for skipping school?” Firkle scoffed.

“Don’t worry about it!” he said, “We ditch school all the time and no one cares. Don’t be a wimp!” Pete frowned and smacked Firkle upside the head.

“If you don’t want to come with us, you don’t have to,” he told Tweek, “What kind of friends would we be if we pressured you into doing something you didn’t want to do?”

Tweek smiled a little in relief. At least Pete was sticking up for him. And maybe… it wouldn’t be so bad to just take one day off. No one except Clyde and Craig would really notice anyway, right? He gave Pete a nervous smile.

“You know what? I think I will go with you guys,” he said, “Nng! It’s not like anyone would miss me anyway.” A small smile made its way onto Pete’s face.

“Good,” he said nodding, “Come on. We’ve got a good day planned out for us.”

Curious, Tweek followed Pete closely, not wanting to be left behind. The other three goths surrounded them, as if forming a sort of barrier. They all piled into a black pickup truck that belonged to Michael. Pete pulled Tweek over to sit next to him as Michael got in the driver’s seat and fired up the engine.

“So, um, where are we going?” Tweek couldn’t help but ask as they pulled out of the parking lot. Pete grinned at him.

“We’re going to a tattoo parlor,” he explained, “Get some piercings, maybe a tattoo. But don’t worry if you don’t want to do either of those things. It’s kind of a big commitment, you know? But it’s fun to watch the artist do his thing.”

Tweek fidgeted a little. He didn’t know how to feel about going to a tattoo parlor. They seemed like dirty places where thugs and bikers hung out in. But surly there was no harm in simply watching, right? It’s not like he was going to get a piercing or a tattoo or something. He gave Pete a little smile.

“Y-Yeah, I wouldn’t mind going along for the ride,” he told the goth, “Um, maybe I could get an earing or something. I’m sure my parents wouldn’t really notice.”

Henrietta smirked. “Your parents ignore you all the time too?” she asked. Tweek sighed.

“Yeah,” he muttered, “They only care about me when I’m working in their shop.”

“Tell me about it,” Pete scoffed, “My parents only care to notice me when there’s a special occasion. Like I really care about my third cousin’s wedding.”

Everyone chuckled lightly as Michael pulled into a small parking lot. As everyone got out of the car, Tweek looked up at the tattoo parlor. On the outside it didn’t seem that bad. Maybe a little run down, but it didn’t look a place where tough biker dudes visited all the time. Tweek felt a little relieved by that as he followed the goths inside.

The inside reflected the outside. It was a humble little place, a little run down, but not as bad as Tweek thought it would be. A girl with lots of piercings and tattoos and chewing gum was sitting behind a counter, reading a magazine. She looked up as they walked in.

“Oh, hey guys,” she greeted, “Back again already? You were only here last week!”

“Yeah, well I wanted a new tattoo, and Pete’s getting another piercing,” Michael explained to her, “And this is our new friend, Tweek.”

The girl smiled and held out her hand to the blond. “Nice to meet you, Tweek,” she greeted, “The name’s Michelle.”

Smiling timidly, Tweek took her hand and shook it. “These guys have been regulars to my parlor here for a couple of years now,” Michelle explained, “They know I’m the best in the county!”

“You’re also one of the only tattoo parlors who don’t care that we don’t have our parents’ permission for anything,” Firkle pointed out in a bored manner.

As the goths chatted about what they were having done, Tweek looked around the place again. The entire wall was covered in pictures of presumably Michelle’s tattoo art and posters of bands that Tweek had never heard of. He couldn’t even tell what color the wall actually was, it was so covered in posters and pictures.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard Pete calling to him. “Yo, Tweek! Do you want a piercing or not?” he asked.

Tweek hesitated a moment. “W-Well, maybe getting just my ears pierced won’t be so bad,” he rationalized, “Something small so my parents won’t really notice.”

“No problem, hon,” Michelle said, “I can start ya off with just some studs. They aren’t really expensive, and if you’ve never gotten your ears pierced before they won’t stand out too much, especially if you’re working.”

“Don’t worry about paying,” Pete said to Tweek as Michelle went to get her stuff, “I’ll pay for your stuff this time.”

“Are you sure?” Tweek asked nervously, “I don’t want to impose…”

“It’s fine,” Pete dismissed, “I just don’t want you to have any regrets.” He gave Tweek a gentle nudge in the arm and Tweek smiled softly at him.

Michelle came back and showed Tweek the different starter earrings they had. He picked out simple round gold studs, and then Michelle prepped his ear lobes. She explained the process to him, and how to take care of his ears until they were fully healed. The actual piercing didn’t hurt as much as Tweek thought it would. It felt like just a really strong pinch more than anything.

After that, they watched as Pete got his tongue pierced and Michael got a new tattoo on his back in the shape of a gravestone. Tweek was rather surprised by the amount of tattoos Michael had and was also impressed by the fact that they could all be hidden by a shirt. He probably did it to hide them all from his parents.

When that was all finished, the five of them hung out by an old restaurant, as the goths smoked and chatted, Tweek stood by. He was glad none of them tried to offer him a cigarette. He didn’t know if he would be able to handle the pressure!

Finally, at the end of the day, Michael drove them all home. Tweek got out at his house and was a little surprised when Pete did as well.

“I just wanted to say thanks for hanging out today,” Pete told him, “I actually had fun being with you.” Tweek couldn’t help but blush.

“Y-Yeah, I had fun too,” he replied.

Pete smiled and surprised Tweek when he leaned over and kissed him gently on the cheek. Tweek took a sharp breath as he drew back and grinned smoothly.

“See you at Token’s party,” he said, then climbed back into Michael’s car. Tweek stared after him in slight shock.

Did Pete… like him?

…

“Kiss me,” Michael panted. Pete leaned down, kissing Michael deeply, their tongues wrapping around each other before Pete pulled away to continue his hard thrusting. Michael hissed slightly.

“Kiss me again!” he demanded. Startled, Pete leaned over and kissed him again. Michael let out a sigh and kissed him back. He thrusted up against Pete to get the younger deeper inside himself. Pete gasped and pulled away to moan as pleasure ran through him. Michael growled with frustration and pulled Pete back down.

“Damn it, Pete, keep kissing me!” he hissed, “Kiss me like I’m him! I want to feel your passion! Your fury!”

“We’ve never kissed during sex before,” Pete pointed out lowly. Michael sighed and leaned up to give him a quick kiss.

“You want your love making with him to be amazing, right?” Michael asked him. Pete nodded. “Kissing during sex ups the passion. Trust me. I’ve had sex with that vamp fag, Mike, several times before. I hate that guy’s guts but every time we fuck it’s mind blowing and kissing him makes it even better.”

Panting, Pete nodded. He settled himself down on top of Michael and began kissing him passionately. Smirking, Michael kissed him back and wrapped his arms around Pete, keeping him secure on top of himself.

“Deeper,” Michael mumbled against Pete’s lips, “I need you deeper inside me. Make me scream with passion for you.”

“Yes,” Pete whispered, keeping his mouth to Michael’s. He started thrusting harder and deeper into his friend, making him moan with pleasure. As Michael moaned, Pete moved to start kissing his neck, making the older goth arch his back.

“God, Pete,” Michael panted, “I-I think you’re actually going to make me cum if you keep this up.”

Pete smiled into Michael’s neck. In all the time that they started hooking up to have sex with each other, Pete had never managed to make Michael cum. Michael was a very demanding lover, but Pete had known that when he first asked him if he could practice having sex with him. Michael always made Pete fuck him, but Michael had never fucked Pete. It wouldn’t be such a big deal, except that Pete knew Michael had multiple lovers that Michael would fuck, and he had heard from them that Michael was the best fuck they ever had.

Michael was so good at sex that he could make his partners cry out in passion louder than they ever had. He made them feel good in ways they never had before. And he told Pete that he only fucked people who could make him cum. Then they were allowed to have the best sex of their lives.

Which was why Pete was extremely jealous of Mike the “vampire” who could make Michael cum every time they had sex.

Pete was brought back from his thoughts when he suddenly felt Michael hum against his lips and kiss him harder. “Mm… you’re getting a lot better, Pete,” he murmured against his lips, “I’m so close. Keep going. Please keep going.”

“Yes,” Pete whispered again, “Yes, Michael, I am your slave. Just tell me what you need to pleasure you and I will do it.”

“Mm…” Michael hummed again, “Yes, just like that. Keep kissing me and talking to me like that, and I think I can… oh God…” He cut himself off with a pleasured moan, and Pete suddenly felt something warm leaking against his stomach. He grinned triumphantly as he reached his own orgasm and started releasing inside of Michael.

When they were both finished, Pete quickly reached over and grabbed some tissues to clean themselves before settling back on to Michael. They kissed briefly before Pete rested his head on the other’s chest. They were both panting hard.

“Fuck,” Michael finally spoke, “That’s the best you’ve ever done. You certainly lasted a lot longer than you usually do.”

Pete was still trying to get his breath back. “You were right,” he said when he could speak, “The kissing definitely made it better.”

“Of course I was right,” Michael scoffed, “I’m always right when it comes to sex.” He tucked his hand under Pete’s chin and forced him to look at him. “Now, I believe it’s my turn to pleasure you,” he purred in a seductive voice, “I have to warn you, though, I can go for a long time, and my orgasms have been known to last for minutes. I will fill every inch of you with a passion that you have never felt before. I will have you crying out within minutes, but I will not stop until I’m finished. Do you think you can handle that?”

Nervous and anxious, Pete nodded. Grinning, Michael gripped Pete’s hips and rolled them both over so that he was on top of Pete now. He leaned down to whisper in Pete’s ear.

“Let’s see what you’re made of,” he hissed before thrusting into Pete.

…

When Tweek went into school the next day he found Craig and Clyde by the front doors waiting for him. Craig gave him a worried look when he entered.

“Where were you yesterday?” he asked before Tweek could even greet him, “We were so worried about you! Did you get sick or something?”

Tweek blushed a little. “Well, um, actually I, er, skipped school yesterday,” he confessed, “I went out with Pete and his friends.”

At his words, Tweek couldn’t help but notice Craig cringe slightly at the mention of Pete’s name. Not for the first time, Tweek wondered if Craig had some sort of problem with Pete and his friends. Did they even know each other?

Craig looked like he wanted to say something, but Clyde spoke first. “Well, I hope you’re willing to spend time with us today,” he said, “We missed you yesterday.”

Tweek smiled at him. “Yeah, of course I want to hang out with you guys,” he replied. He followed Clyde down the hall towards their lockers. He didn’t see Craig stop and turn to glare out of the window at someone standing on the sidewalk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Pete and Michael are kind of fucked up. And Tweek is none the wiser at what Pete is planning. Anyway, the next chapter is Token’s party and something big is going to happen! Want to know what it is? Too bad.


	12. Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tweek goes to his very first party at Token's house and it gets interesting to say the least.

“You got your ears pierced,” Craig noted as they walked through the halls towards homeroom. Tweek reached up automatically to touch his ears.

“Oh, yeah,” he replied, “I wanted to do it to be a little rebellious, you know? And I’m pretty sure my parents won’t notice.” He let out a heavy sigh. “They never notice anything.”

“I like them,” Clyde commented, “Simple and not too flashy.”

Tweek grinned at him. “Thanks.”

As the day went on, Tweek found himself becoming more and more anxious. Tonight was Token’s party, one of the biggest events of the year. Tweek had never been to a party before and he was super nervous, but he knew Craig and Token and the others were counting on him being there. He just hoped he could get through the day without passing out.

Not only that, Pete had said he would be at the party as well, which confused Tweek. He didn’t think the goths would like parties, especially ones were a lot of people would be there. Was Pete only going because Tweek was going?

Finally, the school day was over, and that meant there was only a few hours left until Token’s party. Tweek’s parents were still at the shop, so he was free to get ready in peace. Craig had already told him that unfortunately he couldn’t escort him to Token’s house since Red was forcing him to go with her. But Clyde had promised he would take him.

Tweek stood in front of the mirror in his room, trying to smooth down his hair as best as he could. He didn’t want to look like his normal spastic self, but his hair refused to cooperate. He was wearing a simple long-sleeved shirt and jeans instead of the usual button up top. He didn’t know how formal this party was going to be, so he at least wanted to look respectable.

A honk from outside startled Tweek out of his thoughts. He raced downstairs and quickly got his shoes on before opening the front door. Clyde was in front of his house, waiting in his car. Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Jimmy were also all piled inside. Since Jimmy had the front seat, Tweek crammed himself in the back with the other three.

“Hey Tweek!” Kenny greeted, “You look nice!”

Tweek blushed slightly. “I didn’t know how formal we were supposed to be,” he explained, “I’ve, er, never been to a party before.”

Stan chuckled and leaned over to pat him on the back. “Don’t worry about it,” he said, “Token’s parties are pretty chill.”

It wasn’t long before they got to Token’s mansion. Tweek had never seen such a large house. Teens were milling about outside, dancing, smoking, and drinking. Tweek shivered.

“I didn’t know there was going to be drinking at this party,” he said, eying someone with a beer can, “Isn’t that illegal? Couldn’t we all get arrested?”

“Don’t worry about that, Tweek,” Kyle told him, “Token is very strict about his rules. He actually pays some of the football players to go around and kick out anyone who’s been drinking alcohol. Token’s one of those clean kids, you know? Wants his parties to be memorable for the right reasons. Also, he knows his parents would kill him if one of his parties got busted by the cops.” He chuckled at the thought.

Sure enough, Tweek watched as a bigger guy, obviously a football player, came out and took the beer can out of the smaller guy’s hand and pointed towards the gate.

Clyde parked his car near the gate but away from the partiers. Everyone bailed out and started heading towards the mansion. Tweek stuck close to Clyde, not wanting to get separated from him and lost.

If outside had a lot of teens, then inside the mansion had ten times as many. Tweek cowered in fear at all the dancing bodies milling about. His anxiety was flaring up to max. He didn’t know so many people could be in one place at one time! This was too much for him! Abort! Abort!

Suddenly, a strong but gentle hand landed on his shoulder. “Are you ok, Tweek?” Clyde asked him, giving him a concerned look.

Tweek struggled to breathe. “S-Sorry,” he muttered, “I don’t do well with people. Especially so many at once.”

“I’m sorry,” Clyde said, frowning, “I forgot about your anxiety. Will you be ok? Do you want me to take you home?”

While he would like nothing more than to leave, Tweek shook his head. He didn’t want to be seen as a coward. Who got freaked out by a party? Besides, if he stuck by people he knew all night maybe he could get through this all right.

“I-I’ll be fine,” Tweek insisted, “I promise.”

Clyde nodded. “If you want, I’ll be sure to keep an eye on you all night,” he said, “And I’m sure the other guys wouldn’t mind either.”

Tweek let a smile work its way onto his face. “Thanks, Clyde,” he replied, “I think I’ll be all right as long as I have someone I know with me.”

“You got it,” Clyde laughed. He gently led Tweek further into the house, where the crowd thinned out a bit. In the main living room, people were sitting and talking to each other. Tweek was thrilled to see Red and Craig, who looked absolutely bored out of his mind.

“Be careful if you go over to talk to Craig,” Clyde warned Tweek lowly, “Red tends to prefer to hog him all to herself during parties and only let people she approves of talk to him.”

Tweek nodded in understanding, but didn’t take his eyes off of Craig. His heart lifted when he saw Craig slowly scan the room until his eyes landed on Tweek and he lit up. Tweek smiled and gave him a little wave, and Craig waved back.

When Tweek turned back to Clyde, he realized he was no longer standing beside him. It was like Clyde had disappeared in a wave of people. Trying not to panic, Tweek carefully weaved his way through the crowd, trying to find him.

“Clyde!” he called, “Clyde, where did you go?” He could barely hear anything over the pounding music. There were so many people, he had no idea where he was anymore. Eventually, he somehow found his way upstairs.

Seeing as there were no people up here, Tweek took a moment to breathe. This was not going well. How was he supposed to find Clyde in this huge mansion full of people? Suddenly, he heard voices coming from down the hallway where he assumed the bedrooms were.

Desperately hoping that Clyde or any of the other guys were there, Tweek followed the voices to what was labeled as the guest room. He listened closely at the door, but couldn’t make out what the voices were saying. But they kind of sounded like Stan and Kyle.

Oh, thank God! Tweek thought, They’ll be able to help me!

He opened the door and walked in, but immediately regretted it.

Naked and in throws of passion, Stan was laying on top of Kyle, thrusting deeply into him and moaning breathily as he did so. Neither of them seemed aware of the intrusion.

“Argh! Deeper Stan! I’m getting close!” Kyle begged.

“Yes, my love!” Stan panted, thrusting harder.

Tweek tried to back peddle out of the room and not disturb them, but he accidentally tripped over his feet and let out a loud cry as he fell backwards. Stan and Kyle instantly sprang apart, grabbing at the blanket to cover themselves as Tweek tried to stand up.

“GAH! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to spy on you!” he exclaimed, “AH! I-I didn’t see anything if don’t want me too! I mean, I know Stan is dating Wendy, but I won’t tell anyone!”

“Wait Tweek!” Kyle called out, stopping him, “At least let us explain before you go running off!”

Tweek paused, waiting for them to speak. Stan let out a heavy sigh before he spoke.

“Yes, it’s true I’m dating Wendy, but… um… the thing is I don’t really like her that way,” he explained, “Don’t get me wrong, I like her, she’s a great friend, but I’ve never, like you know, um…”

“You two are gay,” Tweek finished for him. Stan sighed again.

“Uh-huh,” he muttered, “Wendy actually knows our secret. She actually was the one who came up with the plan that I would date her so I could see Kyle in secret.”

“But why do you have to see Kyle in secret?” Tweek wondered, “Why can’t you two just be together?”

“You know how horrible this town is,” Kyle murmured, “They would never understand. Craig’s not the only one who’s not allowed to be with whoever he wants.”

Tweek stiffened. “You… know about Craig?” he asked.

“Well, yeah. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Craig doesn’t really want to be with Red,” Kyle replied, “And we’ve all heard the rumors of how ruthless his parents can be.” He sighed heavily. “Stan and my parents’ aren’t much better. Which is why we have to hide.”

“I understand,” Tweek said lowly, “But, if I may ask, why would Wendy agree to go along with something like this?”

“Wendy has been my friend since childhood,” Stan explained, “She would help me with anything.”

Tweek nodded in understanding. He knew what it was like to have to hide a relationship. He was hiding his friendship with Craig now. “Don’t worry,” he assured them, “I won’t tell anyone.”

Both Stan and Kyle sighed with relief. “Thanks, Tweek,” Kyle said, “And sorry you walked in on us… you know.”

Tweek blushed and backed out of the room, leaving them in peace. He went back towards where the party was, hoping that maybe he could spot Clyde from the stairs. He went about half way down when he spotted Pete across the room. The goth seemed to sense him looking at him and looked up, spotting him. He gave Tweek a little half-nod.

Glad to just have seen someone he knew, Tweek quickly went down the rest of the stairs and crossed the room over to Pete. The goth smiled as he approached.

“Hey, Tweek,” he greeted, “I was hoping I would see you. It’s the whole reason I came to this lame conformist party.”

Blushing, Tweek looked down slightly. “R-Really?” he asked. Pete really came to this party just for him? He tensed up a tiny bit as Pete moved to stand next to him and put an arm around him.

“It’s a little crowded in here,” he noted, “Let’s go find somewhere more private so we can just hang out and relax.”

Tweek rather liked that idea, so he allowed Pete to guide him out of the room by the arm. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Craig staring at them, but he was pulled out of the room too fast.

Pete gently led Tweek through the mansion, through many different rooms of teens partying, dancing, and playing different games. Eventually they found a small sitting room that was totally empty. Pete went over and sat down on one of the couches before patting the seat next to him. Blushing slightly, Tweek went and sat next to him.

“So, how are you holding up, Tweek?” Pete asked, “You didn’t really strike me as the type to enjoy parties.”

“Neither did you,” Tweek noted, “Um, anyway, Token invited me, and I thought it would be rude not to show up. Usually I would be freaking out with all these people, but as long as I’m with a friend I can hold up.”

A soft smile came to Pete’s lips and he inched closer to Tweek. “Listen, Tweek, I’m not going to beat around the bush,” he said in a hushed voice, “I really like you. You’re not like other people I’ve met. You’re not a conformist.”

“O-Oh?” Tweek felt his blush spreading over his face as Pete leaned towards him. He jumped slightly when he felt Pete’s hand brush his own. Swallowing nervously, Tweek looked over at Pete.

Before Tweek could ask what he was doing, Pete leaned over, kissing him deeply on the lips. Tweek inhaled sharply. When Pete had said he liked him, he didn’t realize he meant he liked him in that way!

He felt Pete starting to move his hands around his body, but before Tweek could really decide whether or not he should kiss the goth back, the door of the sitting room burst open. Tweek and Pete sprang apart, staring in surprise at Craig who had stormed into the room. He glared at the goth.

“Get away from him!” he growled at Pete. He stomped over and pulled Pete away, shoving him backwards.

“Craig!” Tweek exclaimed, “What are you doing here?”

“I saw Pete dragging you away and I wanted to make sure he didn’t try anything,” Craig explained angrily, “He’s a manipulative asshole!”

“Hey, mind your own business, conformist!” Pete hissed at him, “Tweek and I were just having a moment together before you ruined it!”

“Oh, I bet,” Craig growled, getting up in his face. The two of them glared at each other before Tweek got between them.

“What is going on with you two?” he demanded, “Craig, Pete was just helping me relax. I-I couldn’t find Clyde, so he was keeping me company.”

“Tweek, you shouldn’t trust Pete,” Craig warned, “He’s bad news.”

“You would say that, conformist,” Pete hissed.

Craig rolled his eyes and grabbed Tweek’s hand before dragging him out of the room. They heard Pete calling out in anger, but Craig ignored him. He pulled Tweek through the mansion until they were outside, but even then, Craig didn’t stop. They kept walking, Craig leading Tweek into the woods towards the treehouse. It wasn’t until they were both safely up in the tree before Craig finally released Tweek.

“What the hell, Craig?” Tweek snapped as soon as he let go, “What makes you think you can just barge in there and talk to my friend like that?”

“Trust me, Tweek, he’s not your friend,” Craig explained, trying to be calm, “He’s just using you for his own sick objectives.”

Scoffing, Tweek turned away. “You just don’t want me to have any other friends,” he muttered, tears coming to his eyes, “Everyone just wants to hurt me and humiliate me.”

Craig frowned and inched closer to him. “Tweek, that couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said, “I want you to have friends, just not like him. I’m trying to protect you from being hurt. I only have your best interests at heart.”

Tweek turned to him, tears threatening to spill over. “Promise?” he whispered.

“Of course,” Craig replied gently and he smiled softly, “I would never hurt you, Tweek. I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOA! Who saw that coming! (Don’t answer that.) What’s going to happen next? How is Tweek going to respond? What’s Pete going to do? How should I know? I’ll try to have the next chapter up sooner rather than later, but who knows how long that’s going to take. Sorry. But leave a comment letting me know what you think!


	13. Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tweek and Craig go to work as a couple for the first time but it's not always easy. Especially when a pesky girlfriend won't leave you alone.

Tweek stared in shock at Craig for a moment, wondering if he heard him right. There was silence as the two locked eyes with each other, before Tweek surged forward suddenly, throwing his arms around Craig, kissing him deeply. He knocked him backwards onto the mattress where he was able to kiss the dark haired boy even deeper and he tingled as Craig wrapped his own arms around him. They kissed deeper and deeper, running their hands all over each other. Tweek had never kissed anyone before but judging by the way Craig was softly moaning into his mouth, he guessed he was enjoying it. He opened his mouth and let Craig in and he felt a ripple of pleasure run through him as Craig’s tongue invaded his mouth.

For a while the two of them were wrapped in each other’s arms, kissing wildly and passionately, not even stopping to breathe. When they finally pulled away, Craig smiled warmly up at Tweek.

“Well, I guess I don’t need to ask if you feel the same way about me,” he joked.

“Are you kidding me?” Tweek breathed, “I’ve been in love with you for such a long time, but I’ve been too afraid to tell you! I didn’t think someone as cool as you could ever love someone like me!”

Craig let out a light laugh. “I’ve fallen hard for you, Tweek,” he admitted, “Ever since we partnered up, I’ve been falling for you. Clyde says I shouldn’t open my heart so easily, but I love falling in love. It’s one of the greatest feelings in the world.”

Tweek leaned down and pressed his forehead to Craig’s. “I know what you mean,” he murmured. Craig leaned up and gave him a small kiss on the lips. “What do we do now?” Tweek wondered, “We still have to hide our relationship, right?”

Craig frowned slightly. “Unfortunately, yes,” he replied sadly, “Trust me, I would love to break up with Red and be with you. But my parents won’t allow it. And if they ever find out about you they’ll find some way to get rid of you. Trust me. I don’t want to scare you, but I don’t want to lose you either.”

Shuddering slightly, Tweek sat up and stared down at Craig. “I don’t want to lose you either,” he confessed, “You’re the first person who’s ever been nice to me. Who’s ever loved me. I’ll do whatever it takes for us to be together. Even if it means we have to hide.”

“Thanks, Tweek,” Craig replied, smiling warmly.

The two resumed kissing for a few more minutes before Craig had to go back to Token’s party to get Red (he did just sort of ditch her.) Tweek watched him go, love and warmth filling his heart before he fell asleep in the bed.

…

When Tweek woke up, the sun was shining through the branches and the window, lighting up the treehouse. His phone was buzzing with notifications. Sleepily, he reached over and grabbed it. He smiled when he saw he a bunch of texts from Craig.

Craig: Morning, sleepy head!

Craig: This is your wakeup call!

Craig: Don’t forget we have work today, love!

“Oh shoot!” Tweek exclaimed, jumping up from the mattress. He quickly sprinted to his house to get properly dressed and groomed before running out the front door. He was planning on running to the coffee shop, but he was surprised to find Craig outside in his car, waiting for him. Craig was smiling.

“Hey there, sunshine,” he greeted, “Need a lift? You look like you’re in a hurry.”

Tweek smiled back at him and climbed into the front seat. He leaned over, giving Craig a kiss before buckling up. “Sorry I’m all ruffled,” he said, “I ran all the way from the tree house. I thought I was going to be late.”

Craig chuckled. “Yeah, I guess I could’ve reminded you last night. But to be honest I only remembered this morning as well. I was kind of freaking out,” he explained.

“Um, hey by the way,” Tweek began a little awkwardly, “Sorry for getting angry at you last night. I know you were only looking out for me.”

Nodding, Craig’s smile faded and he looked serious. “Listen, I know you want to make friends,” he said, “I know Pete and his goth friends seem charming at first. But trust me. I know Pete. I have a history with him. He’s bad news. If I were you I would stay away from him from now on.”

Tweek nodded, a grave look on his face. “Ok, Craig. I’ll try,” he said.

Neither of them said anything more until they got to the shop. When they got there, Tweek hopped out of the car to unlock the shop while Craig found a place to park. Then they got busy turning on all of the machines to prepare for the morning rush.

Surprisingly, one of the first people in the shop was Clyde. He looked extremely relieved to see Tweek and let out an audible sigh. He approached the counter.

“Oh thank God! Tweek you’re ok!” he exclaimed, “I’m so sorry about yesterday! I know you wanted me to stay close, but I got turned around and suddenly you were gone! I was so worried about you! I tried to text you but my phone died! Please forgive me!”

Tweek held up his hand and gave him a soft smile. “It’s ok, Clyde,” he told him, “I should’ve kept a better eye out for you. I’m sorry for worrying you.”

Craig walked over to them. “Now that we’ve got all that cleared up, would you like to order something?” he asked.

After that, Clyde stuck around for a while. The shop got really busy that Tweek and Craig barely had a moment to breathe. Luckily the customers were polite and patient, so it wasn’t too bad.

Until Red and her girls came in. Tweek knew she was going to stir up trouble because that’s what she always did. She, along with Annie, Esther, and Nelly came swaggering up to the counter. They were laughing about something but stopped when they reached Tweek.

“Ew, you’re working today,” Red sneered. Tweek frowned.

“This is my parents’ shop,” he pointed out, “I work here every weekend. And I don’t appreciate your rude comments. Now either order something or leave. We’re very busy.”

“I want my boyfriend to take my order,” Red said in a snide voice.

Over where he was making another customer’s order, Craig sighed and took over for Tweek. Red and her girls immediately started smiling in his face.

“Hi Craig,” she greeted in an overly sweet voice, “Last night’s party was really something, huh?”

“Oh yeah,” Craig replied in a monotone voice, “Sure was. Now, what can I get you?”

Annoyed that he brushed off her attempts at flirting, Red and her friends all ordered super fancy and expensive drinks that Tweek was pretty sure they only ordered to sound fancy. They probably didn’t even know what they were ordering.

But after Red and her friends, the rush of customers finally died down and Tweek and Craig could relax. Though Tweek was annoyed that Red and her friends sat at table near to the counter, probably so they could overhear any conversations Craig had. They tried speaking in low voices, but Red kept staring over at them.

Eventually, Tweek felt a tap on his shoulder and looked over to see Craig looking at him.

“How about we take a break in the back room now?” he suggested.

Tweek’s heart started pounding. He nodded. “Yeah, it’s pretty slow,” he agreed, “I think we can take a break now.” He followed Craig out into the back room, and as soon as the door closed, Craig swept him into his arms and started kissing him.

“I needed a moment alone with you,” Craig murmured as he pulled away, “Just knowing Red was out there listening to us was driving me crazy.”

“Seriously,” Tweek said, rolling his eyes, “She acts like she has to know every single thing that happens in your life.”

“Talk about controlling,” Craig sighed, “By I don’t want to spend my break thinking about her. I want to focus on you.”

With that, they went back to kissing. Tweek sighed slightly as they kissed, gently exploring each other’s mouths with their tongues. He never thought he would be able to do this in his life. Make out with the boy of his dreams. But it was happening. And nothing could ruin this moment.

After a while of kissing, they decided they had enough of a break and it was time to get back to work. Tweek led the way back into the main room. But he stopped partway through, causing Craig to bump into him.

“Tweek, what’s wrong?” he asked, looking over his shoulder. And then he saw.

Pete and the other goths were walking through the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh-oh! What’s Pete doing here? Is he going to cause trouble? What could he possibly be up to? The suspense is killing me!
> 
> Sorry for the short chapter, but I didn’t really know what else to do with this and I thought Pete walking in would be a good place to end it. I think I’m getting better at updating, I’m working on all my stories at once and I’m trying not to let so many things (like Facebook) distract me so much. So hopefully I’ll have more chapters up sooner rather than later. But in the mean time leave a comment telling me what you think!


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